


The Devil Files - Box 2

by Melethril



Series: Reverence For Life [5]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s04e06 The Instincts, Episode: s04e07 Memoriam, Episode: s04e09 52 Pickup, Episode: s04e11 Normal, Episode: s04e15 Cold Comfort, Episode: s04e16 Pleasure is My Business, Episode: s04e17 Demonology, Episode: s04e18 Omnivore, Episode: s04e19 House on Fire, Episode: s04e20 Conflicted, Episode: s04e21 A Shade of Gray, Episode: s04e24 Amplification, Episode: s04e25 To Hell…, Episode: s04e26 And Back, Episode: s05e01 Nameless Faceless, Episode: s05e02 Haunted, Episode: s05e03 The Reckoner, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Some Humor, Tags to be added, Various episodes from season 4 and 5 of CM, While nothing explicit - this is Criminal Minds so expect dark themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 72,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22323940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril
Summary: Lucifer has joined the BAU more than six months ago and continues to help solving cases.The Devil Files will contain everything from short snippets to longer one-shots.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/William LaMontagne Jr.
Series: Reverence For Life [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1482401
Comments: 522
Kudos: 488





	1. The Instincts (s04e06)

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, welcome to Box 2 :)
> 
> These Devil Files are after "Like Ashes in the Wind"

_Thank God for Reid._

This was by no means the first time Jennifer had thought such a thing, but this case would have ended very differently without him.

Well, Lucifer had contributed, too.

Should she thank Lucifer for Reid?

It did not seem appropriate. Lucifer never claimed to have partaken in the creation of humanity.

Trying to get her thoughts sorted, she folded her hands and mentally sent the devil her by now ritualized ‘good night, Lucifer, have fun!’ prayer before unfolding her hands and calling Will.

_“Hey there,”_ said he softly, picking up the phone on the second ring. _”Did everything go well?”_

“The boy’s safe. Thanks to Spencer. The rest of the team, too. They were all amazing,” said she.

“You?”

“I stayed behind, all safe and sound,” smiled Jennifer ruefully. “Don’t worry.”

“You’re having a good time in Las Vegas, I hope,” said Will. “Would be a shame to waste some of your last nights of freedom.”

“I’m having a baby, Will,” she laughed. “I’m not being arrested.”

“Tell me about the case.”

And she did.

* * *

It was a bad one.

They always were whenever they involved children.

Las Vegas authorities had found the boy of five-year-old Ethan Hayes seven days after his abduction.

To make matters worse, a second boy was now abducted, Michael Bridges, and the parents were receiving calls from the UnSub taunting them by saying it was their fault he was taken in the first place.

The case had gotten to Reid, too, who appeared to be having nightmares about finding the body of another boy, abused and stabbed. It was very sweet of him that these obvious fears he was living through included his concern for her child’s safety.

After they landed, Hotch and JJ were welcomed by Detective Ashby and then met with Craig and Amy Bridges. Jennifer quickly made a connection with the distraught woman who was unable to emotionally connect to her husband or to the situation at hand. JJ found herself spending a lot of time trying to comfort this strong woman. The first phone call from the UnSub was strange and included that Michael was in a better place now, which briefly terrified JJ, fearing they might be too late even though it would be strange for the UnSub to kill the child already.

She noticed that Derek was very worried about Reid, and rarely let him out of his sight, which turned out to be a good thing, because Spence had another nightmare this time sleeping on the couch in the Bridges living room. Morgan refused to give any details the following day, but he was concerned.

JJ could tell.

Reid was very closed up about it all, and it started to worry her, too. She would have to talk to Emily about that.

The whole team was nervous.

Well, apart from Lucifer.

Her favorite angel did ask for Reid’s wellbeing, but he was rather unhelpful.

_‘I understand that they’re dreams, Agent Jareau, but he knows they’re just dreams, so why is he frightened? Why is everyone so unbalanced?’_

_‘Because we cannot control our nightmares and they rob us off our sleep, and that can be taxing.’_

_‘Yes, but barring divine dreams, all you have to do, is wake up. Contrary to what certain sources say, dreams are the making of a living creature’s mind. Not to say they cannot be hijacked, but I would like to see the entity with the balls to invade Dr. Reid’s.’_

_‘Waking up can be hard,” said Jennifer. “Forgetting what you felt and heard while having bad dreams can be hard. Have you never had dreams that lingered? A nightmare you couldn’t just get rid off?’_

_Lucifer was quiet for a moment, before saying firmly, ‘You simply bury those dreams and remind yourself that, although they may have once been real, it’s over.’_

_And that was, once again, when she realized that she was talking to an immortal. Naturally, he had nightmares. You could not go through a human lifespan without nightmares. How on Earth could he go through his life without being regularly plagued by them?_

* * *

_“Damn, JJ,”_ exclaimed Will. _“That’s bleak. You should invite him over after we get back. I’ll cook. And Reid. They’re both too thin anyway. You know what? Invite the whole team. New Orleans cuisine. Somebody’s got to take care of you people.”_ That last bit was muttered and JJ’s heart swelled.

“I love you,” said she before she could stop herself. She was not too big on proclaiming her love. Roz did that right before she…

But this was about her and Will, and hearing how he wanted to take care of her team filled her with too much love not to blurt it out.

_“Love you too, chérie. Go on, so you explained what human dreams are to Morningstar, the boy who died was starved but otherwise unharmed, the UnSub called and then-”_

“Garcia couldn’t trace him and we decided to bring the parents to the funeral of the boy-“ she began and then instantly had to justify herself, “I know what this sounds like, but-“

_“JJ, I’m a cop, not a civilian,”_ said Will soothingly _. “I know why you did it. It was your best shot. The guy showed a lot of remorse with his kills and revisited the dump side. There was a good chance he’d be at the funeral.”_

* * *

There was.

They wanted Lucifer to scan for the UnSub, but had to learn that it was not that simple ( _‘What exactly would I be looking for? A dark soul wouldn’t show the level of care we’ve seen with the victim. There are many jaded people in the world. I cannot randomly pick them out and even if there was a way, I couldn’t pinpoint you to him. At least not without severely overstepping the bounds of what I should do on Earth.’_ ). Ultimately, he could not even attend, because the priest was causing a scene and severely angered the entire team by accusing Lucifer of seducing the UnSub into killing the boy ( _‘This wasyou’re your doing, vile creature. Go back to the Shadow!’ – ‘Do I look like a Balrog to you?’ – ‘You cannot pass.’ – ‘Seriously, are you a Lord of the Rings enthusiast?’ – ‘Mr. Morningstar…’ – ‘Fine, Agent Jareau, I will wait by the car.’_ ). He had looked so genuinely upset about the whole thing, obviously not having expected the minister's verbal attack… or being accused of having any part in the death of the child. Thankfully, the minister had his outburst long before Mr. and Mrs. Hayes arrived. This would be a difficult day as it was.

Ultimately, they ended up arresting a man regardless, thanks to a signal from Amy, but the creep turned out to be a preferential sex offender who had nothing to do with killing Ethan Hayes.

They let Lucifer have his fun with him; he did not do that much, actually. He just smiled and drew a quick sign into the air before leaving the room with a casual, “Enjoy prison. It will be an unforgettable experience.”

“What did you do to him?” asked Morgan later.

“Oh, prisoners are so wonderfully inventive when it comes to punishing pedophiles and I wouldn’t wish to steal their fun or lessen his punishment by driving him insane. And I tagged him. Personal gift to Dromos. I’ve got to think of my demons every once in a while or they might just come looking for me.”

In the meantime, JJ heard that Morgan had found out about a past connection to Reid’s current nightmares: Riley Jenkins, a little boy murdered very close to this location, found in the basement of the house behind a dryer, sexually abused and stabbed… They were now wondering whether Reid had known that boy and that this current case sent him on a trip down the memory lane.

* * *

_“Ever thought about keeping a diary, JJ? This would make one hell of a murder mystery novel… or a TV show.”_

“More like two,” laughed JJ on the phone, feeling much better since it was all resolved. “Stranger Than Fiction – The Devil Version.”

_“What happened then?”_

* * *

They received another call from the UnSub who clearly stated to being present at the funeral. The UnSub further accused Hotch of tricking him, and again hung up after three minutes of talking about how much they loved the boy and that Michael would not return home.

“That’s not a man,” said Lucifer as soon as the phone call was disconnected.

“Why would you think so?”

“A voice distorter cannot fool me. That voice is female, I am sure of it.”

Reid quickly confirmed that this had to be true. Her speech patterns, the way she talked about caring for the boy, this was how female abducters talked; it simply spoke against the general rule that women abducted newborns and adults abducted children.

Reid also realized that the three-minute window she gave and some of the phrasings she had used indicated that the Unsub was institutionalized.

* * *

_“Damn,”_ breathed Will. _“These patient files are inaccessible. I know. I once had to deal with a case like that. Not exactly like that, but we needed a name, and it was impossible. How did you proceed?”_

“Reid. He went to the mental hospital where his mother is a patient-“

_“I must have missed that memo, JJ.”_

“His mother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and was institutionalized when he was rather young.”

_“Ouch. Dinner. The whole team. I insist.”_

“Thank you,” said she, wishing to have him present so that she could fall asleep beside him. “He didn’t find a name, but he realized that her psychosis caused her to convince herself that the boy was a newborn baby and that the starvation was due to her trying to breast-feed the boy. We also got a name.”

* * *

Claire Bates had been institutionalized three years ago and had given birth three weeks ago, but Social Services had removed the baby from her care after a one-week evaluation, which explained her decision to kill the boys after seven days… her psychosis caused her to relive her nightmarish days with substitutes, which she had to kill just like she lost her baby.

JJ stayed with the family, so she only heard about what happened a few hours later. Apparently, Reid and Lucifer had searched the house and that Reid found the boy, thus saving Ms. Bates’ life who had been carrying around a bundle that looked like the boy and which she had proceeded to cast into a bonfire.

Morgan had almost shot her to safe that bundle and was enormously grateful for ‘the Kid’s’ timely intervention. Apparently, Lucifer had reacted oddly during the arrest. He refused to be near Ms. Bates and when Rossi asked him, simply said that ‘I don’t want to know.’

Later that night, they pressed him on the topic in the restaurant where the team was eating dinner together (except for Reid who decided to spend that night with his mother).

“What could I possibly mean?” said Lucifer. “She killed an innocent. There are extenuating circumstances, surely, but she violated one of Dad’s big rules.”

“Matthew 5:3,” countered Rossi. “ _’Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.’_ “

“Matthew 5:3 does not include those poor in spirit that have murdered children.”

“She did not- Lucifer, I have killed people more consciously than she has,” protested Rossi.

“Not the same. Not to say you cannot be damned – there are a number of law enforcement members and soldiers that were grievously punished for their deeds – but you are all guardians in a way. Sometimes, in order to guard or to ‘serve and protect’ you must kill. It doesn’t make you a murderer any more than it damns you to kill out of self-defense, but this was a child. Even if the crime itself didn’t damn her, a part of her might be lucid enough to realize what she’s done and that guilt might...” he sighed. “This is why I don’t want to know.”

“So, it has happened that people like her were not forgiven.”

“Of course,” was the forceful answer.

“What do you do?” asked JJ.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you bring them to Bastet?” She just knew he had a system for that, too.

“Sometimes,” said Lucifer quietly. “If we get them out. I put someone else in charge of that. If he behaves, that is, which they usually don’t. She worships chaos, so they love the minds of those with major mental health problems, but because he worships chaos, they might not really see the point in making things easier.”

“Whoa, Lucifer, pronoun game!” said Emily, utterly confused.

“It’s mostly he. Sometimes she. He adores and represents everything on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, so whatever pronoun you pick, is fine with them.”

“And if they don’t behave?”

“I have a couple of demons specifically assigned to that section. We get a handful of these souls to Bastet, but most stick around. Apparently, there are regular tea parties.” He chuckled. “Kind of funny. On Earth, they were in the closed ward, but they’re the only ones to basically roam free in their section of Hell. The innocent ones that is: you can be insane and utterly malicious. We tend to keep them separate. And punish the evil ones.”

“So,” concluded Emily. “Even if she winds up in Hell, she’ll be alright.”

Lucifer looked at her, “If we find her. If we can get her out. If she allows us to help her. Let’s just hope her soul is forgiven before it comes to any of that.” The good mood from earlier turned solemn. “Apologies. I didn’t mean to dampen your spirits.”

“Sometimes, that can’t be helped,” said Hotch, raising his glass in an almost literal attempt to lift the mood. “To all of you. For a job well done. And to Reid. Without whom this case would have had by far more disastrous consequences.”

The rest of the team joined the toast, and together they were ultimately able to keep Lucifer from pondering doom and damnation. By the time JJ left, he was chatting with a stunning blonde at the bar.

* * *

_“Dinner as soon as you’re all back. Good night, love, sweet dreams.”_

“Good night.”


	2. Memoriam (4.7)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not an easy case for any of them.  
> Reid has to work through his issues.  
> Derek through his.  
> And there is a protective devil throughout it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the continued support.
> 
> I’ve been waiting for this one. Again, a few minor things were rearranged, and yes, I went out of my way not to make this from Reid’s point of you. I adore the young genius, but getting into his head is – at least for me – impossible, and I might manage for snippets, but not for when I want to tell an entire story... and this one got ridiculously long.

Derek was sitting by the slot machine trying his luck. He loved Vegas. He came to love it even more when it allowed him to tease Emily for her hangover. Rossi happily joined in on the hazing and once JJ almost used the slot machine and Emily begged her to stop, Derek’s face started to hurt from laughing.

“Good morning, my dear agents,” said Lucifer, looking put together and handsome as ever in his perfectly tailored suit.

“Morning,” said Rossi. “You got your ring back, I see.”

Last night’s celebration had been cut short by a dangerously irate devil who had just found out that he was robbed: cash and his ring gone.

It was back on his finger and the culprit had probably received the shock of his life.

“Yes,” said the devil, good-naturedly, waving his ring-carrying hand. “It’s back where it’s supposed to be.”

“Got the cash back, too? And the thief is sufficiently punished? Is that even a hellishable crime?” asked Derek.

“Stars,” groaned Emily, “you’re way too upbeat this morning.”

“It’s a legit question. ‘ _Thou shalt not steal’_ and all that,” supported him Rossi with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“I hate you both,” muttered their colleague, putting her head in her hands.

“Are you alright, Agent Prentiss?” asked Lucifer, having picked up on her mood.

“Just hungover, and you’re not answering my question. You didn’t, you know…” said Derek mimed something that could vaguely be interpreted as Lucifer’s eyes flashing red.

“Brought my hands to my eyes opening and closing them inanely? I most certainly did not, Agent Morgan, you are making very little sense,” said Lucifer, confused.

“Did you do a devil reveal to put the fear of celestial power into the culprit?” Derek spelled out.

“No, of course not. Stealing may tip the balance, but in itself, it is not… did you really say ‘hellishable’?” asked Lucifer. “That is appalling, my dear agent. What did you do last night to not remember the word ‘damning’? I hope you had a wonderful time,” he grinned suggestively.

Derek answered the smile affectionately. In fact, he had not. He had won 500 dollars last night, drank a glass of whisky with Rossi and then called it a night. He had spent the last couple of days worrying about the Kid and he really needed the sleep. Speaking of, Reid was not here yet.

Before he could ask, Rossi pressed Lucifer about the money and the ring, “She could keep the money. I did not have that much cash on me. But I demanded my ring back. It’s of great sentimental and I guess also monetary value.”

“Do tell,” said Rossi.

Lucifer turned his hand, so they could all inspect the ring with its dark stone, “From my Lightbringer days, one could say. Stardust, or rather its miniscule counterpart, containing a molecule from each star I made.”

Derek wondered if he would ever get used to Lucifer being who he was. At some point, you simply had to stop being surprised every time he said something like that.

“Definitely of monetary value then,” said Rossi, his eyes wide.

“The Kid will so pester you for the det-“ began Derek, but then his worry was back in overdrive. “Where _is_ Reid?”

“Sorry,” apologized Reid, choosing this moment to come into the lobby. JJ waved his apologies away and told him that Hotch was waiting for them at the airstrip. The Kid said that he would stay in Vegas for a few days giving some inane lie about staying with his mother. Lucifer frowned, obviously having picked up on it, but Rossi squeezed the devil’s arm to keep him silent. Derek agreed. They had to make a point.

If the Kid thought he could work on the Riley Jenkins case all by himself, he was mistaken. They pretended to say goodbye and left.

They quickly hashed out who would stay behind – the ones not hungover or in the late stages of pregnancy – and on their way to Reid’s hotel room, they filled Lucifer in on the plan.

“And why didn’t you tell him that you knew he was lying back at the casino?” asked Lucifer as he walked right by the reception, not bothering to pick up a key.

“Because,” answered Rossi, “the kid’s smart. Way smarter than Morgan or I are, but occasionally, we need to remind him that just because we aren’t on his level, doesn’t mean he can play us for suckers.”

“I see,” said Lucifer, put his hand on the handle to Reid’s room and opened the door with ease.

“We should make use of your Lightbringer skills more often,” said Rossi, eyes on the door.

“Lightbringer?” asked Lucifer confused.

“Raphael told me that you can unlock any door,” said Rossi. “That a lock blocking you would mean-“

“-blocking out the Light. Yes, that’s Jophiel’s favorite theory. It’s probably correct,” said Lucifer. “She usually is.”

“Help me out,” said Derek. “Who’s Jophiel again?”

“Some scholars teach that she’s an archangel,” answered Rossi. “Her domain is wisdom, understanding and judgment.”

“Yes and no. Her domain is ‘gathering of knowledge,’” said Lucifer. “Science. That’s her domain. She’s insatiably curious. And quite the special case. Earthbound and as such, not an archangel, but she’s almost Azrael’s age. Both were babes during Dragon Reign, but Jophiel got into her domain before Azrael.”

Dragons.

Vertiable dragons had lived while the dinosaurs roamed this planet. It fit, of course, but whenever Lucifer talked of them (which was rare, but they were profilers, they knew when to ask the questions), it was with undeniable fondness and – more importantly – as if they were people. Therefore, they assumed that dragons were just that.

People.

With fangs.

It would be funny is this were not his life.

“Wait, and before that?” asked Rossi. “Who was the Angel of Death?”

“Dad took care of the souls that came before,” answered Lucifer.

“I’m not sure I understand,” said Derek.

“It’s very simple. Angels are born when their domain comes to be: in the beginning, there were only immortals in the universe. No death. So she came later. However, just because you come into being, doesn’t mean you can take over your domain. An infant has no place in handling death. So Dad took care of it.”

“Why did he ever hand over the domains in the first place?”

“I don’t know. They never said,” was the quiet answer. “I’ve thought about it, though.”

“You _are_ the offspring of two celestial beings. Will you be a celestial as well, one day?” asked Derek, having discussed this with Reid at length.

“I _am_ a celestial being, but whether I’ll ever have my parents level of power is not really clear. The others might, one day, I’m pretty sure I was removed from the celestial line of succession, if such a thing exists,” said Lucifer. “And based on what I know, the others aren’t becoming more powerful either. More experienced, yes, but not more powerful. Almost all are restricted to one domain, too… Ah, Dr. Reid.”

They had a brief discussion with the Kid telling him that he should not be pursuing this traumatizing case all by himself. However, when they heard who the suspect was, Derek balked at the thought.

“Be sure about this,” warned Rossi, not looking any happier at the idea of investigating Reid’s Dad. Lucifer, on the other hand, was all for it.

“And why wouldn’t he be? A terrible crime was committed. And the culprit is still loose.”

Riley Jenkins, six years old, missing on his way home from baseball practice, found in the basement of his family’s house.

Stabbed nine times in the chest.

Lucifer was right. Derek’s skin crawled at the thought of this case. But this crime was need-based and sexual in nature. They were dealing with a pedophile.

And Reid’s primary suspect was his own father.

Did he really want to down this road?

Rossi asked that question out loud.

Lucifer did not accept the question, “What’s the difference? Justice can only exist if the same rules apply to everyone. That is not to say that I don’t take personal interest in punishment. Those who hurt the ones I care about will be punished far less leniently than others. Personally, I think Dr. Reid should absolutely pursue this case. Heaven literally knows what I would do if I could punish Dad for a damnable crime. I locked Mom away. I would do exactly the same to Dad. Problem is that he makes the rules. He can easily move the goalposts, but rest be assured that I’m all in for punishing someone’s Dad.”

He was dangerously enthusiastic, which had an adverse effect on Reid, who – for the first time – looked concerned.

“I don’t want to nail my Dad for something. My mind’s sending me signals-“

“Oh, I understand absolutely,” said Lucifer, nodding in agreement. “Your father might as well be a pedophile. Or he’s otherwise involved. I mean, what if the culprit hurt you and he decided to get his own little taste of justice? So many possibilities. What do you want us to do while you talk to your mother?”

The thing about Lucifer was that you honestly could not tell whether he actually supported Reid or was deliberately exagerating matters to make the genius think about what he was doing. Anyway, the method was effective. Reid looked vary.

Good.

This was no small matter. Reading the details of the case was heartbreaking. Ultimately, Reid decided to see his mother for more information. While they were waiting for him, they gathered all available information on the case and filled the rest of the team in on the siutation. Lucifer was not unsympathetic, but he was definitely calmer and more collected than Derek was, which in turn, helped him getting through the file without hearing voices long past.

_Look up to the sky._

“Dromos will enjoy working on this one,” said Lucifer, sounding rather upbeat. “He enjoys working on all the pedophiles, but especially those that commit murder.” He looked at them. “If you combine certain sins, you have more than one demon fighting to give you the attention you earned for yourself. Dromos will claim this one, however.”

Derek and Reid later went to see Mr. Jenkins, the father of the boy, while Rossi and Lucifer returned to the police station to get some more information.

Afterwards, they met again and something about this whole story was fishy. Lucifer and Rossi both believed that the Detective, Detective Hyde, was ‘his-last-naming’ something, to use the devil’s turn of phrase. Hyde had been in charge of the Jenkins case all these years ago.

Derek thought that Mr. Jenkins was hiding something; he was just a little bit too ready to defend a friend he apparently had not seen in years.

He had given them good advice, however, hinting that Reid’s father – a lawyer, the Kid’s dad was a partner at a law frim… it seemed so unexpectedly normal – still worked at Summerlin, which irritated Reid.

Derek could not blame him. That father had thoroughly messed up; while Derek could understand why the relationship with Diana Reid did not last - relationships were never easy; add paranoid schizophrenia to the mix, and it was near-impossible – it was quite clear that the father had neglected to keep contact with his only son, and Derek saw what it did to the Kid. There was a reason he had clung to fatherly Gideon…

Before his thoughts went into really dark territory (say: his own collection of surrogate fathers), he focused on the Kid and tried to be there for him.

Their visit to Bill Reid’s law firm was interesting.

First, Lucifer gained access in record time.

_“Hello.”_

Less than five minutes later, they were in a room alone with Bill Reid, thanks to an utterly charmed secretary.

Second, Reid was barely able to speak.

Third, Derek regretted taking Lucifer with them.

“You know, I’ve often wondered,” said Lucifer after bestowing Bill Reid a look that could only be interpreted as absolute contempt (a look he usually reserved for some of the worst examples humanity had to offer), “what makes a father reject his son.”

Lucifer could smalltalk with the best of them, but he was obviously furious on the Kid’s behalf and utterly disgusted with Bill Reid’s idea of talking around the matter at hand (“ _He used to look like me. Everyone said so.” – “People unconsciously mimic the expressions of the people they have been around their whole life. So, it’s not a surprise that I no longer look like you._ ”)

“I didn’t reject him,” said Reid’s dad, angry now, especially after Reid had mentioned the dreams he had about Riley Jenkin’s death. He was clearly on the defensive, even more so now that Lucifer decided to talk about the matter that bothered him the most.

“Leave him. Kick him out of the house. Same difference really.”

Horrified, Derek looked to Rossi. It was bad enough that the Kid was out for vengeance; they now had an irate, protective devil on their hands who had his own issues to work through. Rossi shrugged his shoulders, equally helpless.

“I did not…”

“Leave him? And now you’re lying. You’ve been fibbing before, too,” said the devil and his tone of voice changed to that soothing, alluring cadence that made Derek want to spill his guts. “Tell me, what is it that you desire?”

Derek bit his lips, so he would not blurt out something stupid.

“Spencer,” breathed Mr. Reid. “I want him to forgive me.”

Lucifer tilted his head at that and turned to ‘their’ Reid, “Apologies, young one… or not. I am not sure what you want, but he’s obviously not a creep. He could think of nothing else if he were the bad guy we are looking for.”

Reid trusted Lucifer’s judgment. Even when it came to something where he was hopelessly biased. He looked both relieved and pained: relieved to know his dad was not a need-driven offender, pained to know that the man who had left him was not more of a monster.

“That being said,” continued Lucifer quietly, “you know who it is, don’t you? And you want to tell me.”

Mr. Reid’s pupils dilated reflexively and he gasped, “I say nothing without a laywer present.”

“But a laywer is already present,” suggested Lucifer, dialing his desire-mojo up to eleven and Derek felt the air in the room thicken. The tense atmosphere instantly vanished when Rossi put a hand on Lucifer’s arm.

“Enough! We’ll find it out ourselves.”

It broke the spell instantly; or rather Derek was under no illusion that Lucifer allowed the spell to be broken.

“He still hasn’t answered the question. Why did you abandon your child? Why did you never try to stay in touch with him?”

“You don’t understand,” hissed Mr. Reid, his back pressed against a wall, obviously uncomfortable.

Lucifer scoffed, “You’re right. I don’t.”

With that, they left the room and called Garcia who was tasked to access Bill Reid’s files; this action was definitely on the wrong end of the illegal-legal balance, but Derek was too agitated to argue the point with Lucifer. He was just grateful they got him out.

Once they were back at Reid’s room, they found an envelope in front of the door giving them a new suspect: Gary Brendan Michaels, a man who fit the profile much better than Bill Reid, but the timing was highly suspicious, Derek had to agree.

After Garcia gave them the rundown of Bill Reid’s life – workaholic, not a traveller with a sick cat, reader – she ended with an attempt at cheering up Reid by saying how Bill Reid had archived everything concerning their favorite genius.

The Kid left in a huff.

“I thought I was giving him good news.”

His baby girl sounded so sad.

“This has been brewing for a while, Garcia, nothing you say could make this right,” he tried to comfort her.

“But his dad obviously keeps tabs on him.”

“So does mine,” said Lucifer, his eyes too dark. “Does this mean I should forgive his complete and utter rejection?”

There was nothing they could say to that, and after Lucifer switching to a more cheerful tone in order not to hurt Garcia, they hung up the phone. Rossi, Morgan and Lucifer then decided to pick up Reid and they found him talking to a prostitute with a familiar look on his face.

It was Reid’s ‘I have an idea’ face.

He saw them and immediately approached them.

“Hey,” said the lady by the machine. “You have about 2000 dollars on there.”

“Keep it,” said Reid and Derek shook his head disbelievingly.

“You are aware you just gave 2000 dollars to a hooker?” said Rossi thus voicing Derek’s thoughts.

“That must have been one hell of a conversation,” said Derek after Reid confirmed Rossi’s statement dismissively. “What did you two talk about?”

“How to quit smoking,” said the Kid and walked away, explaining to them that he wanted to undergo hypnosis to bring up these old memories.

While they tried to find a suitable hypnotherapist that would help Reid walk down the memory lane, Lucifer’s phone rang and he excused himself.

“Call me as soon as you’re back from the lovely therapist,” said he, his eyes on the picture of their therapist of choice. “There is something I need to take care of.”

* * *

About two hours later, they drove to the mental hospital where Reid’s mother lived.

Apparently, the Kid remembered his father burning bloody clothes, and his mother knew something about this. Lucifer joined them on the parking lot having driven to the sanitarium separately. He looked at the building with an expression that was difficult to describe.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, Agent Morgan,” said Lucifer. “Just… I usually avoid these places.”

Derek could only imagine how therapists reacted to Lucifer. After all, if the profiler did not have irrefutable proof of Lucifer’s identitiy, he would doubt his sanity as well.

“Just remember to introduce yourself by your last name,” said Rossi, having picked up on that as well.

“No, that’s not… It’s a remnant of my Lightbringer abilities, I think. A moment’s clarity. That’s what I bring. I cannot heal them, that’s Raphael’s domain, but when I’m near, the veil that covers their mind lifts and…” he sighed. “Sometimes, a veil is desirable.”

“But you said you generally don’t deal with those ‘poor in spirit’,” said Derek.

“I put someone else in charge of the day-to-day dealings, but I am fully aware of my effect on the insane. Both the living and the dead. A damned soul is not the same thing as a soul risiding within a human. My presence does not help a damned soul, that would be kind of counterproductive, but my presence lifts the fog of a darkened mind. As I said, a remnant from my days when Light was my domain.”

For the first time since Lucifer joined them, it seemed like Reid was not really paying attention to what he had to say.

“Let’s go,” said their genius instead impatiently and approached the building. They followed, but not without checking to make sure their favorite devil was fine. He looked unhappy, but he did not refuse.

The next couple of minutes were unforgettable.

First of all, the reaction of the head nurse to Lucifer was absolutely priceless going from _‘ah, Dr. Reid, wonderful to have you back. Your moth-er, hi, my name is Doris, and you are?’_ ( _“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Doris. Lucifer. Morningstar.”)_ to a far more professional _“Are you here to meet with Dr. Norman, sir?”_

Lucifer’s look of sheer disappointment alone was absolutely hilarious and he would so tease him for that one. His mirth did not last for long, however.

Soon, it became very clear what Lucifer meant. While Reid was very single-mindedly focused on talking to his mother (followed by Rossi), the devil’s effect on the patients took hold instantly. There was a man who started to cry when Lucifer as much as looked at him, telling them how much he missed his wife and that she never visited anymore, that he did not understand why, and that he wanted to see her again. There was another who appeared to be fully aware that Lucifer was the devil and gave a shout of terror before running away, a nurse not far behind. There was a woman who fell to her knees and thanked him for coming, and asked whether he had come to heal and save her. Lucifer looked very upset at the suggestion and walked away quickly, only to be pummeled by a female patient who had taken the ‘expressing their desires’ part of Lucifer’s abilities very literally.

“Hey, you,” she smiled. Lucifer effortlessly held her in place – of couse, he did. Derek had been pinned to training mats enough times to know how much power hid behind that lithe body – but he leaned back when she tried to kiss him.

“Hello, love, it’s truly wonderful meeting you. Your enthusiasm is enthralling, but I must decline,” breathed Lucifer.

“Why?” she asked, pouting, “I want you.”

“Dear, usually, I would absolutely take you up on that offer, but this is the equivalent of you being drunk and me taking advantage of you,” said Lucifer, effortlessly putting her down. “Worse actually. You still feel the effect of the drugs you are taking and now I removed the reason why you need these uppers. You are in no position to give consent.”

Derek took pity on Lucifer and gently guided her away, which – at first – seemed like a terrible mistake, because her full need zeroed in on him, but the more distance he brought between Lucifer and the lady, the more she settled down.

“I’m terribly sorry,” said she, embarassed. “I don’t know what came over me.”

By the time a nurse took care of things, she was almost unresponsive and Derek was quite disconcerted by it all. Before he could talk to Lucifer about this, however, they heard a scream from the general direction to where Reid had disappeared and they ran the final distance.

There was Mrs. Reid, screaming at the top of her lungs, hitting herself.

It was horrific to watch.

Not because Derek had never witnessed a breakdown like that but because this was Reid’s mom and he looked heartbroken about it all.

Before the nurses got to her, Lucifer’s presence took hold and she calmed almost instantly.

“Oh, Spencer,” said Mrs. Reid. “I am so sorry, I didn’t wish to upset you. Agent Morgan! What are you still doing here? I thought you closed your case. Saved the boy.”

“We did, ma’am,” said he. “It’s good to see you again.”

“And you,” she continued, her eyes on Lucifer. She pointed at him, curious and suspicious. “You’re the one doing this, are you?”

“I can assure you,” said Lucifer quietly, “that I would prefer not to.”

“An Englishman. You are Spencer’s new colleague, oh!” she held her head and Reid was by her side, absolutely terrified. “Can you turn down the lights, please? And you, thanks for coming, but I am quite calm now,” she addressed the nurses that stood under the doorframe. They reluctantly obeyed, but announced that they would call Dr. Norman just to be on the safe side. “Of course. Please, close the door behind you. Thank you.”

As soon as they did what they were told, she looked to Lucifer, “Turn down the lights.”

Lucifer did not do anything as far as Derek could see, but the lights dimmed and the entire room darkened, their devilish colleague almost disappearing into the shadows.

“Thank you,” said she, no longer looking pained. “Spencer was very careful not to write anything that the establishment might view as ‘insane,’” said she slowly, “but a mother knows. Lucifer Morningstar isn’t a stage name, is it?”

“No,” said Lucifer. “It isn’t, Mrs. Reid.”

“Diana,” she corrected. “I’m Mrs. Reid the same way that you are Mr. Morningstar. A meaningless name, though I wear it proudly to show that Spencer is my son. Just like you wear yours proudly to honor your creations. They’re lovely by the way.”

Lucifer smiled softly, charmed. “Diana. Very fitting, I must say. You remind me of my sister. You have your son’s Light albeit weaved with motherly love and just a hint of chaos whereas his is as bright as his mind.”

“This clarity, it’ll disappear as soon as you leave, won’t it?” asked she.

“I’m afraid so,” was the remorseful answer.

“Then let’s make the best of it,” said she. She smacked her lips and lifted her finger again. “You’ll take care of him, won’t you? Where I can’t. Protect him.”

“Of course,” replied Lucifer. “As surely as Agents Morgan and Rossi… and the rest of the team will be there for him.”

“Absolutely, ma’am,” reassured Derek instantly. “We’ll make sure he’s safe.”

“While appreciated and acknowledged, that’s not what I’m talking about,” said she before turning to Lucifer. “Beyond that. Will you stand in his defense? Against whom you’ve served your whole life?”

She was asking him to defy God if that was needed to be there for Reid.

“Angels only Fall once, Diana. I already have,” was the quiet response.

She did not seem satisfied, “Will you heal him? If he is the same as me?”

“That is not my gift to share,” replied Lucifer.

She scoffed, and to Derek surprise, the devil did not seem to take it very personally. Instead, he smiled.

“Then what use are you to my son?”

“I have learned that celestial judgment has its flaws, but so far I have not shown true resistance. If Dr. Reid were to be damned as he is now, I’ll walk to the gates of Heaven myself,” was the firm reply. “If his soul happened to be corrupted, I could not let it slide, but I couldn’t bestow the punishment myself. I’d rather burn through the stars again before punishing any of them.”

She looked at him, “So, you are willing to Fall all over again.”

“I’d go through the same pain again.”

“Good,” said she, and he smiled as if he had not just given his word to fight Heaven for the team.

“Fierce,” said he. “I like it.”

“You’re good for my son.” Then she acknowledged the others for the first time. “All of you are. Despite the sadness he has to deal with, he is as happy as he has ever been, and that is all I want. And you are?”

“Special Agent David Rossi, Mrs.-Diana,” said Rossi. “We haven’t had the pleasure.”

“No, we haven’t. You bring the wisdom of age to the team, but at first his letters indicated that your return was temporary. Will you leave him, too, as did the one who brought him into the sadness?”

“Mom…” whined Reid, or as close to a whine as a grown-up was willing to use.

“I have no intention to,” answered Rossi to Derek’s surprise and a weight that Derek did not know was there, was taken off his shoulders. When exactly had Rossi slipped under Derek’s skin and made himself comfortable in his heart that held only a select few? “I admit to having used my influence and good standing with the FBI to settle a few things, but the more I saw of the team, the more I started to feel like I wanted to be a part of it. I am not going to abuse that trust they so reluctantly placed in me.”

“Good,” said she, satisfied. “And you.”

Derek gulped. There was a stern-librarian-literature-professor vibe to her that terrified him. He was a professional, he kept up-to-date with the literature, he used to be a solid student – at least in college; in high school, he barely scraped by and without athletics, he never would have gotten a spot at any college – but her expression screamed ‘if you are not the best, I am disappointed in you.’

“Yes, ma’am?”

He mentally recapped all the times he had spent hazing the Kid, and wanted to crawl under a rock.

“He has no siblings. Definitely not a stronger, older brother. You know that, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am. To be fair, I only have sisters, so younger brothers are not something I’m used to either,” said Derek.

“Oh, I have both and he’s an excellent older brother,” chimed in Lucifer cheerfully. “Very protective. Very caring.”

“Good. Thank you,” said she, satisfied with the devil’s reassuring words. “Make sure it stays that way.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Mom,” said Reid, cheeks red, obviously embarassed. And awed. Definitely awed to see his mother so lucid. “You’ve no idea how much I want to… this and talk,” the Kid could barely form a sentence, he looked so emotional. “But I need to-“

“Riley Jenkins,” she nodded, switching gears as effortlessly as their genius. Bill Reid was wrong. The Kid mirrored his mother in all the ways that mattered. “Poor thing. We never knew for sure, but Lou, his father, suspected it was Gary Michaels. There were rumors about him and he played chess in the park with you.”

Reid stiffened, “Did he try to-“

Derek balled his hands into fists, his entire body tense.

“No, honey, no, it never came to that. Lou took me with him…“ she began and told them everything.

It turned out that Lou Jenkins had killed Gary Michaels; Diana had been in the car with him when Jenkins entered Michaels’ house and attacked him. She had stayed put at first, too terrified to move, and then found the dead body of Gary Michaels, beaten to death with a baseball bat. The bloody clothes that Reid remembered were Diana’s.

The blood on it Gary Michaels.’

Subsequently, Diana had an episode from the stressful situation so her memories were fuzzy, but she remembered where Lou buried Gary Michaels.

“Can’t say I blame him,” said Derek. “Killing the son of a bitch that molested and killed his son… I get it.”

Lucifer did not.

“What if he punished the wrong man?” challenged Lucifer. “He did not know. Not for sure. There is no justification for rectifying one evil with another. Please tell me you know that, Agent Morgan.” He sounded positively terrified.

“I’m not saying I approved of it,” growled Derek. “I’m saying that I get it.”

“There is a very fine line between understanding and following through,” was the equally tense response. “I _know_.” The understanding and sympathy in that one word almost made Derek want to flee the room. “I do, but killing another human for revenge will not bring back your child. All it does, is damn you right alongside the killer that you punished. It would be a field day for my demons and they would punish you appropriately. The path to Hell is paved with false righteousness.”

Silence.

Derek had come to name this silence ‘the devil lays out the cosmic laws and humans have no say in that.’

“A mother’s protection-“

“I am not saying that a parent cannot protect their children,” said Lucifer. “If a predator comes after what’s yours, do whatever you have to do to protect them, but ‘making them pay for hurting you’? More often than not, the need to bestow vengeance is selfish… and you’ll be the one paying the highest price.”

Diana reached out and put her hand on Lucifer’s wrist, “We understand.”

He deflated a bit, “Good. I want you to remember that. Please, remember.”

Derek decided that Lucifer should never have to beg them for anything; least of all for keeping their souls on the straight and narrow. If he was ready to fight God to make sure they could go Heaven (meaning he would never see them again), they should not make his job harder.

Did Derek want to go to Heaven, though? It seemed to him like the devil had shown more interest in his fate than God and all his angels ever had.

He knew better than to mention that now, though. This was a conversation for another day.

“We will,” reassured Derek, and was echoed by Reid and Rossi.

Thanks to Diana’s bout of lucidity, the case was closed rather efficiently, and ended with the identification of Michaels’ body and the arrest of Lou Jenkins.

That did not go too smoothly, however.

Detective Hyde asked to do the arrest, but Lucifer would have none of that.

“And why would we allow that, detective? Why should he receive more dignity than Mr. Michaels who was bludgeoned to death? It takes a lot of wrath to do that.”

“His child was murdered,” said Hyde angrily standing toe to toe with their colleague.

“And he decided that Mr. Michaels was responsible, but there was no trial to determine guilt or innocence; he did not _know._ He had no way of knowing whether Michaels was the murderer. _”_

“Michaels was a creep for Heaven’s sake!”

“He committed an act of indecent exposure in front of children. Disgusting? Surely. Deserving of punishment? Absolutely. Castration? Possibly. Murder? Never. Agents Rossi or Morgan, if you don’t do the arrest, I will, and I promise I won’t be gentle, but you stay back, Detective Hyde!”

“You do not call the shots here!”

“Actually,” said Rossi. “Michaels’ was buried across state lines. This is our case now. Mr. Morningstar isn’t wrong, so I would be very quiet if I were you.”

Derek was the one to do the arrest. He still understood why Jenkins did it, so he did it rather gently.

“You’re arresting the wrong person,” said Jenkins. “I did the world a favor.”

“That’s not for you or me to decide,” answered Derek. He protected the man’s head as he guided him into the car.

“You work with young Spencer Reid, isn’t that right, G-man? How long?”

“Since he joined the BAU. Almost five years.”

“You like him, don’t you? You’re protective of him. You must be. It’s a dangerous job. And you seem to me like the protective type.”

“Yes, why?” said Derek.

“Michaels would have gone for him next. You might have never known Spencer. Or he would have been molested, scarred forever. Do you have any idea what this feels like?”

Shame, anger, pain and fear snuck up on him, embracing him like the worst kind of friend. A hand on his right shoulder made him flinch.

“And you, Mr. Jenkins,” said Lucifer, “had your heart ripped out, and you didn’t care whom you’d hurt as long as you could patch up that hole left where your son used to be. If this wrath had not focused on Mr. Michaels, it would have lashed onto the person closest to you. Your wife, perhaps. Your friends… for still having a son while yours is gone. Or perhaps even young Dr. Reid.”

“I’d never have hurt him,” was the appalled answer.

“And Michaels may not have killed your son. Enjoy prison, Mr. Jenkins. They’ll treat you gently. The judge, the jury, prison. They’ll all be lenient. You won’t get a maximum sentence,” he chuckled. “I mean it: enjoy the time you’ve left. What comes after won’t be as kind. Agent Morgan, please come with me.”

Jenkins looked terrified.

“I understand loss,” said Lucifer once they were out of sight, his posture very tall and uncommonly stiff as if trying to keep his temper in check. “It makes you irritable and you drown in your own grief, lashing out, but he’s just shown his true colors. He knows no compassion, so why would he receive it?”

“He doesn’t know,” said Derek quietly.

“It’s an insensitive remark regardless. He’s not a monster, but he sure as hell isn’t a saint,” countered Lucifer sharply. “Save your pity for people like Claire Bates, not for Mr. Jenkins.”

There was a hand on the back of his neck, and only then did the profiler realize that he was shaking like a leaf. Derek breathed through his nose and closed his eyes lowering his head.

Jenkins’ words would give him nightmares; he just knew it.

Reid in Buford’s hands.

It would not be the first time he had that dream, but it never lost its horrific technicolor awfulness.

“He hurt you,” said Lucifer briefly touching his forehead with his.

“Not knowingly.”

“Perhaps, doesn’t mean I will forget it.”

“That’s not very ‘neutral celestial justice’ of you,” chuckled Derek, his own voice sounding hollow.

“If Dad wanted complete impartiality, he would have put Michael in charge of justice,” scoffed Lucifer. “He’s always been better at keeping his emotions in check. After all, he never hesitated when he put a sword through me.”

Now it was Derek’s turn to put an arm around the lean figure’s shoulders, “Never mind. I’m glad it’s you.”

“Are you alright?” asked Rossi. He did not know about Derek’s past, and Derek, as much as he respected and trusted the man, had no wish to tell him.

Some things were better left in the past.

“Speaking of terrible fathers,” said Lucifer. “Look who’s decided to show his face?”

Bill Reid was talking to a very uncomfortable Reid.

“-I’m so sorry, Spencer.”

They heard him say.

“You could have called,” muttered Reid, refusing to look at his father. His arms were crossed over his chest as if he was hugging himself. “You could have come back.”

“It was too much. The weight of this knowledge-“

“-you still could have made sure he knew you were there for him,” interrupted Lucifer.

“Luc-don’t, please let me,” said Reid quieting their colleague, but there was steel in his voice. “I’m sorry I thought you capable of hurting Riley Jenkins. I wanted the truth, and I got it. I’m sorry for doubting you, but the truth is, I don’t know who you are. And right now, I’m not sure if I want to know who you really are. You knew about Mom’s condition and you left us nevertheless, made me deal with it all by myself: those days she wouldn’t take her medication and she was having an episode, or when the meds were too strong and she was catatonic for days. You weren’t there when I needed you. I don’t need you anymore, but if you want to get to know me,” he fumbled for a business card and scribbled his personal phone number on it, “Here. Now you can’t claim not to have known how to reach me.”

With that, he asked them to leave and they did. They picked up their stuff to fly back to Quantico. Lucifer took longer than the rest of them, but they were all punctual.

“Morgan!” exclaimed Reid, staring at his phone as they settled down in the seats of their commercial flight. “JJ’s in labor! They drove her to the hospital.”

The flight could not be short enough, but by the time they landed and arrived in Quantico, they already received news that Henry LaMontagne was born. Rossi drove Reid to the hospital, while Derek volunteered to take care of the paperwork.

“You don’t want to go?” asked Lucifer, watching him filing everything.

“I could ask you the same thing, man,” said Derek.

“Children disturb me, and the thought of meeting that baby is mildly disconcerting,” answered Lucifer truthfully as ever. He had formed a really sweet, quiet bond with Jack, and he had obviously no problem with JJ’s pregnancy, but it seemed that the idea of a baby in their team did not make him particularly happy. “What is your excuse? You’re good with children. You’re a protector. You need to know they’re both fine. Why aren’t you heading over?”

“Not today,” replied Derek curtly. The mere thought of being near a child right now made his skin crawl.

Lucifer exhaled and Derek looked away. He did not need his pity.

“Silly human,” admonished him Lucifer softly.

“It’s not silly,” hissed Derek.

“Isn’t the official definition of the word to ‘ _have or show a lack of common sense or judgement; absurd and foolish_ _’_? What else could I call your fear? If I lived by your fear, I’d be the most deprived, ruthless and cruel soul on the planet. I have seen so much evil, how could I possibly be anything else?“

“That’s not the same.“

“So you and the others keep telling me, but how am I to know? I am fully aware that you don’t represent humanity, but if these thoughts plague you, why wouldn’t related fears be justified? If you think you’re doomed for what a deprived soul did to you, how could I possibly stay here on Earth bringing humanity’s depravity with me? By your logic, that’s exactly what I’d do. His sins are not yours repent for. It’s his shame, not yours.“

He was right. Of course, he was right.

“Only if you come with me,” said Derek, not quite sure if he wanted Lucifer to go with him or refuse with him.

“I’m sorry?”

“Don’t think I don’t notice,” said Derek. “I do. I notice how, even after we explicitly told you to show your affection freely, you don’t. You enjoy our hugs, but you still hardly ever initiate, and not because you don’t like touch, on the contrary, you deprive yourself of it for the same reason you don’t initiate: because you don’t want to taint us. And I don’t accept that. You know how much shit we’ve seen.” Too many crime scenes flashed by his inner eye. “There’s an ugly side to all of us,” he continued. “We can deal with yours, too. Stop fighting. So, my deal to you: I go if you go, too.”

Lucifer was quiet for a few moments before he agreed.

They arrived just in time to see Reid and Garcia fawning over their godchild. JJ looked great for having just given birth, and Lucifer’s full attention was on her, giving the baby a wide berth. Garcia did not give Derek the option.

“Careful, careful,” said his Baby Girl and Derek took that little bundle of a human being with the utmost care.

“Hi there, Henry. You got yourself the best godparents in the world, and the best mom. Well, second best, mine always comes first,” he grinned at that innocent little thing in his arms. “Got yourself an amazing dad, too,” he continued, when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the rest of the team enter with Will LaMontagne, “and your personal guardian devil.”

Lucifer chuckled at that, but he still ducked behind Hotch when Derek wanted to sneak the child into his arms.

Hotch happily took the baby, smiling at the new parents warmly.

“And Lucifer,” said JJ to keep their favorite angel from fleeing the room. “What did you do in Vegas?”

“You know,” said Lucifer from the doorframe, “the usual: I played a bit of poker and thus acquired a casino when the stakes were raised, became co-owner of a club called Fletcher’s, got married. The things you do when in the ‘entertainment capital of the world.’”

The entire room froze.

“You what?” choked Emily, sounding as surprised as Derek felt.

“I acquired a casino.”

“No, the ‘getting married’ part. Who? Why?” asked Rossi. “Are you out of your mind?” That was a bit rich coming from a man married three times.

"We figured this was the best way to help each other out."

"But... how?” asked Reid. “You don't believe in monogamy."

"Sexual monogamy makes no sense,” confirmed Lucifer, before addressing Hotch. “But I've been told that close friendships and a romantic partner are essentially the same. I think we can be friends. So why not marry her?"

"I'm mainly just upset we weren't there," said Garcia, utterly crestfallen. “I want to meet her. When is she coming over to DC?”

"Probably not at all. Her home’s Vegas. Besides, it's probably just temporary. Until her debts are paid off. She'll help me out in the meantime."

"How?"

"That I'd rather not say."

"She must be one hell of a lady," smiled Derek.

Lucifer nodded slowly, "She reminds me a lot of you, actually. All of you. Same goodness; the same light." He then looked at Henry. “Agent Jareau, Detective-“

“Mister,” corrected Will. “I quit my job.”

“Good! Perfect! Children need their fathers,” said Lucifer, approving wholeheartedly. “Mr. LaMontagne, Agent Jareau, enjoy your bonding time with the tadpole human. I look forward to seeing it again in… sixteen years? Frank’s pubescent human is quite tolerable, so sixteen is fine.”

“See you soon, Lucifer,” laughed JJ.

“Jack asked whether he could visit again soon. He likes the music.”

“Of course,” said Lucifer immediately. “Interest in music must be encouraged-“ his phone rang. “Excuse me, getting secretly married kind of upset Maze… thus also Dr. Linda… and Delilah… and my accountants… and I swear that Frank’s organizing a party if the background noise was anything to go by when I called Astra earlier.” With that, he left.

JJ giggled and winced at the same time, “I’ll miss you.”

“You recover first,” said Hotch gently. “You can always visit once you feel well enough. Being on maternal leave of not.”

God, he would miss her until she returned. He impulsively hugged her and put a kiss on Henry’s forehead.

Perhaps, he would be free of his nightmares tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REF:  
> https://www.behindthename.com/name/diana (Diana means divine :) )
> 
> Two things about Memoriam (4.7):  
> \- Every wondered why Morgan isn’t present when Reid visits JJ in the hospital? This was my headcanon.  
> \- Am I the only one who’s still pissed at Reid’s Dad? Reid had nothing to do with whatever happened. He could have found a way to be a father to his son.
> 
> One thing about Lucifer (TV):  
> \- I enjoyed God Johnson well enough, but was always disappointed with how little they did with the “Lucifer admits himself to a mental hospital” premise… Here are my head-extended-canon (as in, not actually part of the how, but it could have been)


	3. 52 Pickup (4.9)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Meet Viper."
> 
> That is all there is today regarding today's episode recap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning. I normally try to remain more or less strictly bound to the episode itself, but Lucifer just got married, JJ is on maternity leave and there is no way our profilers will leave the matter that Lucifer got married rest without talking to him in detail about it....

Lucifer was making himself scarce.

Emily was not the only one who noticed. Lucifer said he would show up if they needed him, but otherwise, he spent his time in Vegas, LA or DC.

He frequently traveled to Vegas, possibly to see his wife – whom they had not met yet – or to deal with the aftermath of having acquired that casino he mentioned. According to the local FBI office that called Hotch only a few days later, this was not any old casino but a very lucrative one that belonged to Marco Romano, a man that local authorities would call ‘crime boss and mobster who is very, very good at hiding the crime part of his activities.’ Apparently, Romano had not been very happy about having lost one of his priced possessions to some guy at poker _(“His own fault. Only a fool plays poker with the devil”)_ and stirred up trouble. By the time they heard about that, though, Lucifer had already taken care of that threat his own way: Romano voluntarily gave himself over to the local police and confessed to everything he had done. He also gave valuable information to make a lot of other nefarious people in Las Vegas sweat. He did all of that under the condition that Lucifer Morningstar would never come near him again.

Apart from ridding Vegas of a crime boss, Lucifer also went to LA because his friends there were apparently quite worried about his impulsive decision to get married, and in DC where, apart from managing Astra, he was apparently having big plans regarding the expansion of his tower.

However, Emily had the distinct feeling that these were all just excuses. They were all trying to regain their routine after JJ went on maternity leave, but Lucifer was outright refusing to accept these changes, not having visited Quantico once since JJ left. Yet, that also did not sound right. Lucifer was highly adaptable. After all, he had moved his entire life from LA to DC and never once seemed to regret his decisions.

Last Saturday was when she finally got her answers. They decided to bring Agent Jordan Todd, JJ’s temporary replacement, to Astra in order to introduce her to their civilian consultant. Emily went in there with a very clear expectation. He would happily welcome them all, take a look at Jordan, and give a nod to Hotch (or her and Morgan, because Hotch had Jack this weekend and was not actually present) to give his consent for yet another devil reveal. It was basically what happened with JJ’s Will, with Garcia’s Kevin Lynch and with Hotch’s Haley. So, it was a bit of a surprise when Lucifer enthusiastically greeted them all, obviously having missed their presence, but made no move to indicate that Todd should be included in the increasing number of people who knew about his true identity.

“So, what’s the deal?” asked Todd, sipping a drink in the ‘BAU corner’ of Astra (direct view on the piano as well as all the important corners, exits and entrances of the club). “I mean, I can see the perks,” she smiled looking around the most prestigious club in the city. “But apart from a whole lot of money, what special skills does he bring?”

“He’s outstandingly brilliant,” said Reid.

“Says the genius,” laughed Todd. “Seriously, Reid, you’re so, so smart and nothing in his file indicates that the team actually needs him. You don’t handle that many cases where the occult comes into play, and even then, I fully trust you guys to be able to acquire any special knowledge he may have. What’s the deal? I cannot imagine Hotch would indulge a rich man’s need to pursue justice.”

Todd was smart and perceptive; Emily suddenly realized that they needed to talk to Lucifer directly about his obvious reluctance to reveal his identity to her. Morgan seemed to agree if his body language was anything to go by. Before they could look for their wayward colleague, they saw Frank Lawrence come over with a genial smile on his face. If that man were ten years younger, Emily would definitely give it a go with the flirting. He was just this warm, calm presence that made you feel good.

“Frank!” exclaimed Morgan standing up to hug the man. “Don’t you have Saturdays off?”

“This _is_ my night off. Michelle unexpectedly decided to have a sleepover with a friend, and I suddenly found myself without plans for Saturday,” he smiled. “I decided to go to a place where I knew my presence would be welcomed.”

“Oh, Frank!” exclaimed Lucifer having trailed back to their table, a blond lady by his side. They all assumed that Lucifer’s wife knew about his opinions regarding sexual monogamy – he was far too honest and cared far too much about consent not to have told his wife – so nobody said anything. “What are you doing here? Is young Ms. Lawrence alright?”

“Michelle’s fine. Staying over with a friend.”

“Ah, right, staying with the ‘just-a-friend,’ I see,” grinned Lucifer.

“I wish. If Michelle were dating girls I would spend much less time worrying,” retorted Frank. “I hope you don’t mind another pair of hands during tonight’s set.”

“Oh-“ Lucifer opened his mouth, closed it and waved the thought away, “Nah. Too easy. I’d be delighted. Sophia, this is Frank Lawrence, Frank, meet Sophia. My dear, I hope you don’t mind that I will play a set with Frank before we continue with your preferred activities?”

_Continue?_

Emily would not ask. She absolutely respected Lucifer’s way of life. Hell, if anyone deserved to have as much sex as they wanted, it was the former Lord of Hell whose only opportunities to have sex arose when he was on a rare weekend trip on Earth with millions of Hell years between visits. It still contradicted many of ingrained social rules to have him talk so openly about sex.

“Oh sure!” said the lady biting her lips in excitement.

“Wait, I thought you were married,” said Todd, appalled.

“I am.” – “I know he is.”

“Does _she_ know?” asked Todd, indignant and genuinely angry.

“Of course,” said Lucifer, utterly confused.

“Really? God, that poor woman!”

“God has nothing to do with any of this, I assure you.” The tone in Lucifer indicated that Todd just entered very dangerous territory. He was outwardly very calm, though, his arm gently wrapped around Sophia.

“Agent Todd, I presume?” said Frank. “I think you are having a few misconceptions about the situation at hand.”

“Are you a laywer? You sound like a laywer,” said Todd.

“Okay, everybody back up,” commanded Morgan. He looked at Lucifer. “Look, I know you: you don’t lie and respect other people’s needs and desires, so there is no way in Hell you would do anything your wife hasn’t consented to, but…”

“But?” repeated Lucifer, his head tilted.

“Since Las Vegas, things have been… off, and I think we need to talk.”

“Ah, the most dreadful words in the English language,” scoffed Lucifer. He looked at Sophie apologetically and she just smiled.

“Well, it was a pleasure. I mean it,” she emphasized, her eyes fixed on Lucifer’s lips. “Thanks for the… and also the… and I still want to know how you did the… Anyway,” said she forcing herself to step away. “Any plans for tomorrow?”

“Not that I’d know of.”

“8 AM?”

“An early riser, I like it. My apartment door’s always open,” he smiled.

“Goodnight, Lucifer.”

“Sleep well, Sophia. Thank you.”

Frank put a hand on his shoulder, “You go and talk. I’ll play your set tonight.”

“Thank you. Agent Todd, would you mind staying down here?” asked Lucifer. “There are a few private matters that must be discussed.”

“Sure, go ahead,” said she in a remarkably neutral tone.

Lucifer led them through the club, which parted like the Red Sea (damn, she had to ask him about that) and although the devil was smiling and talking to his patrons, he might as well have put a ‘don’t bother me’ sign, because nobody approached him. They stepped into the elevator to his apartment, the doors closed and the nonchalant air disappeared.

“My dear agents, what is the matter?”

“What’s your problem with Todd?” asked Morgan bluntly.

“I don’t have a problem with her,” said Lucifer. “She, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

“That’s because she thinks you’re cheating on your wife,” explained Reid.

“I refuse to call Candy, have her come over to DC, just so people can see that she is fully aware and accepting of my ‘lifestyle.’ What does that even mean?” he continued, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. “It is disrespectiing of her intelligence and autonomy as a person to school me about our marriage. Who’s to say she doesn’t also have lovers on the side?”

“So, her name is Candy,” said Morgan, a certain amount of tension in his voice. The elevator dinged and they entered Lucifer’s home.

“Yes. Don’t be as condescending about this as Maze, I beg you, or I might just ask you to leave. I don’t follow some dastardly scheme aimed to cause mischief. That isn’t my style. No matter how much I enjoy and respect the work of tricksters, I am not actually one of them,” hissed Lucifer, hurt and slowly becoming angry. It was obvious that LA had given him a lot of flak for his recent decisions and he was getting fed up with being treated like a child over them.

“I am not being condescending or judgmental about your marriage, Lucifer. I am worried,” said Morgan forcefully. “How do you think we felt when we heard from the Vegas office that you took on a mob boss all by yourself?”

This time, the devil tilted his head in a distinctly non-human manner that activated the lizard part of her brain. If Morgan’s sudden intake of breath as well as Reid’s sudden retreat and Garcia’s gasp were any indication, it was not just her imagination that Lucifer was letting some serious mojo flare.

He transmitted an aura that said ‘I am the devil. I used to rule Hell and you humans are simply an amusing pastime.’

“Seriously, Agent Morgan? You thought I needed your help taking down a man so drenched in sin that he reeks of it? Don’t be ridiculous.”

He said it with so much condescension that it actually stung.

“We’re your friends,” said Garcia, looking ready to cry. “It’s our job to worry. Look at Morgan. He’s so strong and so capable; I know he’s probably safe, but I still worry every time he goes into the field.”

The tension left the room as quickly as it came, but Lucifer still looked strangely unsettled, “But… I’m the devil. No human could harm me.”

“But what if it’s not a human? What if it’s Amenadiel? Or Michael? Or…” she glanced up. “Him?”

“The moment Dad decides to do something, there is nothing you can do to stop it,” was Lucifer’s reply. It was stated as fact. “Your concern is entirely irrational.”

“Well, but that’s what family does,” countered Garcia. “We take care of each other. We worry about each other. We most certainly invite each other to a wedding.”

Lucifer twitched at the mention of family, and Emily would have to tell Garcia to stick to ‘we are your friends’ because it was obvious that ‘we are your family’ might cause him to retreat even further. Thankfully, that was not the part of the conversation Lucifer focused on.

“Ah, I see, this is about me marrying Candy.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed in a tone that always led to an elaborated, forceful rant Garcia-style. “I mean, I don’t know about the rest of the team, but me? I am offended. Yes, I am offended, because you marry someone and we’re not even invited. I couldn’t wear my favorite dress and I love that dress. I wanted to sit on your side of the wedding party with a tissue in my hand, because I always cry during weddings, and I wanted to be part of the bridal party and get to know the woman that obviously captured your heart, and me, personally, I am so, so mad at you for not telling us about your wedding or your wife or how come you got married-what are you doing?”

Lucifer’s expression had softened further with every word she said and he had grabbed his phone typing in a number.

_“Hello, dear.”_

Her voice was calm with a very amused undertone.

“Hello, Candy, I am so sorry for calling on a Saturday night when you should be taking care of your patrons. How did your set go?”

_“Really well. At Frank’s suggestion, I hired two new girls for support: the ones that came in on his recommendation. One of them is on her way to becoming the lead singer of my club. Where does he know all these people from?”_

“He toured the States and unlike me, his last stint wasn’t thirty years ago,” said Lucifer.

_“Who am I to talk to this time?”_

“The team,” sighed Lucifer, but his smile was fond.

 _“Oh, really? The BAU is with you?”_ she sounded genuinely excited and Emily really wanted to meet her face to face.

“Yes. With me are Agents Morgan, Prentiss, Dr. Reid and Ms. Garcia,” he introduced them. “Everyone, this is Candy.”

 _“My name is Candy Fletcher,”_ she introduced herself sobberly. _“Long story short: Lucifer and I met when he was on a case in Vegas. You even saw me. I was that blonde with him at the bar. He seemed a bit down, but mostly, he seemed rich with more cash than is sensible. I am a singer at my father’s old club. He was a good man, but didn’t know how to deal with money. I inherited the club and five hundred grand in debt that I owed to Marco Romano who, as long as I can remember, has been a specter on the periphery of my life. I needed money. There was this rich guy who wouldn’t miss a bit of cash, so I stole it. He also wore a shiny ring that looked valuable, which I took as well. Imagine my surprise when I entered my apartment, and there was this guy from whom I had just lifted a fortune. He told me to keep the money, but that he wanted the ring back. We talked, turns out he’s decent and that he doesn’t really think much of men like Marco Romano. He offered to take care of my problems.”_

“All of that makes sense,” said Dr. Reid. “Lucifer is a protector. He wants people to feel safe, but how did it go from Lucifer helping you to getting married?”

 _“Oh, is that you, Dr. Reid? Lucifer’s right, you sound very sweet_ ,” she practically cooed. _“I don’t know about you, but I don’t like taking things without giving something back.”_

Emily snorted at that. She liked that girl.

_“Hey, he got a nice, deep conversation out of that evening, didn’t he?”_

Garcia giggled, “I like your style.”

Morgan grinned, “Okay, that still doesn’t explain the marriage.”

_“Doesn’t it? We got married so Lucifer could settle my debts without complications.”_

“And in return?”

_“That’s not my story to tell.”_

If she were here, Emily just knew that Candy would look at Lucifer as expectantly as the team was doing.

Lucifer scoffed.

_“You should tell them. They’re your friends.”_

“But they already know.”

“Do we?” asked Morgan.

“Yes. Remember the conversation you had with Raphael and later on the plane? You’ve all been… extraordinarily kind,” said Lucifer, his body facing the balcony to avoid looking at them as he spoke; classic evasion technique.“Kind and generous. Even Agent Hotchner’s little spawn doesn’t go to sleep without saying goodnight. He’s also developed an extreme curiosity for the stars, learning all about them and addressing them. Ms. Brooks and Agent Hotchner are both responsible for that, I know. Raphael also talks to me daily. And all of that reminded me why I was called a ‘taker’ back in the day.”

“Taker of what?” asked Garcia, though it was clear that she already suspected the same thing as the rest of them.

“Prayer. There are givers and takers, and I always gave, generously, but somehow, was mostly considered a taker, because I always needed so much more than the rest,” said Lucifer quietly, his hands crossed behind his back, still not looking at them.

“That’s not surprising,” said Reid. “Taking your domain as Lightbringer into consideration-“ he stopped abruptly and stared at the phone. Emily froze.

 _“Oh no!”_ exclaimed Candy with no small amount of sarcasm. _“I married the devil. Whatever will become of me?”_

“Did you really think I would marry someone without telling them who exactly they were dealing with?” asked Lucifer.

“Of course not, sorry, I just… You took it well, Mrs. Flet-Morningstar,” said Reid.

 _“Candy please and I kept my name,”_ said she in return. _“Please, continue with your original stream of thought, you’re on the right track.”_

“The amount of energy it took to make the stars alone is unfathomable. Literally. I spent a Saturday trying to make an accurate calculation,” said Reid, following her request. “It’s not a wonder you needed a lot of prayer to restore your energy levels. Prayer is your form of food. You’ve been starving.”

“But then, I lived without it for 750,000 Earth years,” smiled Lucifer. “And I got used to it. Now though, with having some of it back, I found that some of my earlier ways to sustain myself leave me empty and adrift, but it is selfish to concern the source of my nourishment with my own desires and needs, so…”

Lucifer loved sex, reveled in it, Emily knew, but from what Raphael had told them, in order to protect his lovers from his almost addictive presence, he had to pour more of himself into them than simply his full attention… or rather, the full attention of an angel, which held power of its own. In a way, Lucifer was praying to his lovers, probably in the hope they would return the favor.

“We get it, man, so your marriage-“

 _“-is a mutually beneficial arrangment,”_ completed Candy, sounding both fond and very down-to-earth. _“We promised to stay married until our issues are settled.”_

“I see,” said Garcia. “You know you have a standing invitation to the Bureau and my home, right? Even if you get a divorce. Any friend of Lucifer’s is my friend, too.”

 _“Damn, Lucifer, they’re like sugary balls of goodness!”_ exclaimed Candy, genuinely charmed by Garcia, unsurprisingly. _“Okay, as soon as things have settled down here and this club isn’t falling apart in my absence, I’ll do a weekend stint in DC. I want to see Astra.”_

“We’re looking forward to meeting you,” said Emily.

_“I’m surprised you don’t mention Lucifer’s lovers. What’s their name anyway?”_

“Sophia,” said Lucifer readily, “and they trust me to be honest with you.”

 _“That’s good, but you sound tense_.”

That woman was _good._ Lucifer was not that easy to read, especially not over the phone.

“Our new colleague, Agent Jordan Todd, who doesn’t know Lucifer very well, accused him of adultery,” explained Reid.

 _“Well, technically speaking, he does sleep with someone other than his wife,”_ laughed Candy, “ _so that’s not wrong, but normally the word is used for something the wife is unaware of, or something the wife might disapprove of. Neither is the case. He’s got a big sexual appetite that I’m not interested in feeding.”_

“So, you’re not-“ began Emily.

_“Hun, I am so ace that desire personified can parade naked in front of me, perform the juiciest sex act and I'm still not interested. And if you think we're talking hypothetically, you don't know Lucifer. Or my level of curiosity."_

That was clear enough. Lucifer grinned widely and very fondly at the phone.

“And that is part of your charm,” said he.

_“Flatterer.”_

“I mean it! This utter lack of sexual desire is baffling. Charming and tantalizing, but absolutely baffling,” said he.

Emily had no idea if their marriage would last; given how both of them sounded, this was the textbook definition of a ‘marriage of convenience’ albeit an unconventional form of it, but these two were kind of sweet together.

“We look forward to meeting you, still married to Lucifer or not,” smiled Morgan, apparently thinking the same thing.

_“Great, me too! But now I have a club to run. Have you sufficiently been convinced that I am fully aware of whom I married, that Lucifer is fully aware what he got himself into, and that we’re being rational adults about this?”_

“Yes, ma’am,” confirmed Morgan. “Apologies for interrupting you.”

_“Don’t ‘ma’am’ me, Agent Morgan. It’s Candy. Penelope, Lucifer told me about your fondness for magic shows. I can get you into any magic show in Vegas.”_

“I love you,” breathed Garcia.

 _“Flattered but I’m taken, honey,”_ laughed Candy. _“Let me know if you want to spend a weekend in Vegas. Lucifer’s got my information. Have a good night, everyone!”_

“Good on you, man! She’s amazing,” smiled Morgan broadly once she hung up.

Lucifer grinned in return, “I know. Now that this is out of the way, please tell me what else has you knockers in a twist.”

“Agent Todd,” said Reid immediately. “You seem hesitant about revealing your secret to her.”

Lucifer nodded slowly, “Do you remember LA, Agent Morgan? When I revealed myself to you?”

“That’s not something you forget, Lucifer,” replied Morgan softly.

“I did not plan on revealing myself to you, but I knew you could take it, as I knew the rest of the team could. However, I was hesitant. Do you remember why?”

“The detective. Chloe Decker. You called her the pitchfork-and-torches type.”

“And you warned me about her. Even after you just witnessed me drill a hole into a concrete wall, and walk through a house that was on fire. Why?”

“She was spooked, spooked beyond rational thought,” said Morgan slowly, “I couldn’t predict her next move, and so I needed to warn you in case you didn’t already know. But this is not a comparable situation. We all know. We can walk her through it. You don’t have to show your other self to her.”

“She will not believe until she sees and she will not be able to cope once she does,” said Lucifer with a finality that left no room for argument. “I’ve seen it a thousand times with hundreds of different faces. I am sure Agent Todd is an excellent federal agent, a highly capable woman and extraordinarily gifted. But her soul would find no rest once she finds out about me.”

* * *

That had settled it, really. Lucifer would not give away his secret to Todd, but he agreed to joining the next case, which took place in Atlanta, Georgia.

An UnSub who had completely changed his victimology going from killing prostitutes to a socialite, Vanessa Holden, 25; Todd still saw this as one UnSub given the extreme brutality (gutting of his victims), making them clean up and setting down cleaning supplies in an identical, triangular fashion. What stood out was his massive rise in confidence, not just regarding victimology, but having gone through a personal transformation into a Don Juan – who was actually not what most people had in mind if you listened to Reid.

It did not take too long and their investigation led them to a pickup artist named ‘Viper.’ Emily already scoffed at his ‘Learn how to pick up chicks’ advertisment, and his space cowboy dresscode. She already hated this case, but now she only felt disdain. Hotch sent Emily, Morgan, Lucifer and Todd to one of Viper’s classes and Emily could not tell whether he wanted Todd to bond with Lucifer or if he wanted to punish her for lying to the Holden family in order to gain access.

Whatever the reason, Emily was glad Hotch asked her to join the rest.

Not at first, but for what followed.

“Men are put on this earth to hunt women. And even though women deny it, they want to be hunted. They need it. It's part of our biological imperative as animals,” narrated ‘Viper.’

_Oh, come on!_

That sleazy peacock gave her the hives.

“And the competition the opposite sex puts you through: Pitting you against other guys, against your own friends even. It's all to reassure themselves that they have brought home the best possible mate. They want someone who's gonna make their eyeballs roll back in their head.”

He was right. Her eyes were definitely rolling, but not the way he wanted.

“My job is to help you slash past every defense, every excuse, every _’why don't you meet my friend’_ trick that they're gonna throw at you. You may not have ripped abs or afford table service, but if you're smarter and,” he gestured at his frankly embarassing outfit, “more interesting, then you will be a better predator, because this is the jungle, my friends. And your prey wants to be caught.”

“And what will you do once you catch them?” asked Lucifer. He was leaning against a wall, looking as if he did not have a care in the world. However, appearances were deceiving. Emily knew that look. He was disgusted. Bad things happened to the people that disgusted him. “Because you, Mr. Viper, don’t give the impression as if you could pleasure a woman the way she deserves. To have this much disdain for your lovers… that doesn’t translate well into fun bedroom activities. Tell me, are you a one-minute man? A two-pump chump? I bet you are.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” asked Viper advancing Lucifer who was simply waiting for him without the slightest glimpse of dominance or aggression.

“Lucifer Morningstar,” said Lucifer, “And I’m flattered, darling, but misogynists aren’t my type.”

As if stung, Viper took a step back, disgusted, “I don’t teach fairies.”

That made Lucifer laugh out loud, “Oh, you better not. Some faeries eat vipers.”

Emily just knew Lucifer meant that literally. She would put it on the list.

But then Lucifer addressed the group of men who had been watching the exchange, “Do you wish to have some real advice? He’s chosen his own persona wisely. You’re taking advice from a snake-oil salesman with a forked tongue who wouldn’t know what to do with a woman if one ever took pity on his frankly embarassing appearance. You can continue to do that or you can listen to me and I will teach you not only how to talk to a real, human woman, but also what to do if they honor you with their interest and their attention.”

“You can’t do that!” exclaimed Viper. “You-“

One of the more confident men interrupted, “So, how do you think we should go about this then?”

“First,” began Lucifer. “Forget everything he told you. Women aren’t prey and you aren’t predators hunting women. Women are not succubi in disguise sucking out your lifeforce or idiot bimbos without a mind of their own. Women are people, as you are. They make mistakes, some may be nasty, some manipulative, but most don’t play games or are out to hurt hurt you. What you must remember is that, generally speaking, men are stronger than women. Now these two ladies,” he nodded to Emily and Todd, “are well-trained and could take each and every single one of you with ease and eat Mr. Viper for breakfast, but – and this is to make my point – Agent Morgan here could defeat them in turn. That is a basic biological fact. Men, as a general rule, are physically stronger than women. That doesn’t make them prey or weak. It makes them brave. They put their trust, their faith in you that you will not hurt them. That you will stop when they tell you to. Never break that trust.” He let that sink in and Emily swallowed dryly.

“Mr. Viper mentioned ‘excuses’ and ‘games.’ Know that most of these ‘games’ are to protect themselves from unwanted attention, but also to stay within the moral bounds of society because while you men ‘score’, she – by your very language – ‘puts out.’ You are the ‘player,’ she’s the ‘whore.’ I absolutely disagree with this depiction, but almost every society that still exists today shows the sexually active man in a positve and the sexually active woman in a negative light, and it is one of the great injustices in this world. Erase the words ‘tease,’ ‘cock tease,’ ‘queen bee’ or any other term that you might have used in the past regarding women who decided against sleeping with you. Her reasons for rejecting you can vary, but never forget that one of them may as well be the social stigma of ‘putting out.’ Besides, it’s not your choice when they reject you. It’s theirs. If they say no, regardless of how willing or how far along you two are, you stop. Every time. No excuses. Feel free to try again. I’m not saying flirting cannot be playful or repeated with the lady that rejected you, but when they say ‘stop,’ you stop. Is that clear?”

They nodded eagerly awaiting for more. Viper glowered at Lucifer, but he said nothing. Morgan grinned.

“How do you approach them?” asked another guy. He had a notepad in his hand.

“With confidence and humility,” was the immediate answer. “Be confident about who you are. Know about what you can and cannot do. Play to your strengths. At the same time, remain humble. When they give you the time of day, be grateful. Listen. Hear what they have to say. Be gentle. If you are a little nervous, show that too. Talk. Not about yourself, but about things that interest you. Find common ground. Find out what they want and give it to them if you can.” Then, he seemed to remember something, “And honesty! I always forget this part. Be honest about your intentions. If sex is all you want, make sure she knows. For some, that is a turn-off, for others that is fine, but at least there won’t be any false pretences.”

“No, that’s exactly how you shouldn’t operate,” hissed Viper. “Don’t show weakness-“

“Ladies,” said Lucifer addressing the female workers in the building within earshot as well as Todd and Emily. “Whom would you give the honor of your attention? This one, or me?”

The vote was unanimous.

“See?” he continued, but was distracted when a waitress approached him, wrote a number on a card and whispered ‘call me.’ “Oh, thank you, you’re too kind. I’ll put this to good use.”

His smile was genuine and full of fond amusement at her boldness.

As the waitress probably hoped and anticipated, this was the moment he caught the undivided attention of the class.

“You said earlier about… performance,” said a shy guy a few rows back.

“Not so hasty. We’ll get to the naughty parts very soon.”

He spent the next ten minutes giving them tips on how to respectfully approach women and Emily would have loved to record it all, but they used the time to get some more details from Viper, though he wasn’t willing to give much of it. It was clear that the UnSub was one of Viper’s students and Emily could not imagine the sleazebag protecting anyone, so she believed him when he said he did not remember.

A call from Hotch distracted her.

“How’s it going?” asked the Unit Chief.

Emily turned to Lucifer.

_“The term ‘foreplay’ makes it sound insignificant, but pleasuring a woman is only possible if you indulge in it wholeheartedly. You will last longer, too, because it takes your flighty members out of the equation. Now, unless you know how to do them, don't do massages. Chances are, you'll do it wrong."_

„All good, Hotch."

* * *

Morgan was called off, because he had to hit the clubs with Reid tonight – to be a fly on the wall for that – and to deliver the profile to the club visitors. Meanwhile, Todd and Emily were tasked to talk to Viper. Something that was remarkably easy given that the man was enraged over his class being taken over by a real ladies’ man.

“Unbelievable! They’re eating it up!” exclaimed Viper, pacing in front of Todd and Emily who both grinned at his obvious ire. “You’re enjoying this, are you?”

_„Never forget. Consent is sexy. Not only does it make the situation safer, women will actually remember you making an effort. Especially if you are green, they'll forgive you more if they notice you care."_

“Oh yes, we do,” smiled Todd. “Doesn’t it make you think that he might be right and you aren’t? I mean, as a woman, I might be willing to leave with him. I wouldn’t let you on my facebook page.”

“You’re on facebook?” Emily exclaimed, looking over Todd’s shoulder at her phone.

“Yes! Feel free to ‘friend’ me,” she smiled, and Emily felt a true bond form between them for the first time since Todd joined the team.

Emily inspected her facebook page and noticed a quote from _A Man Without a Country:_

_“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”_

“Oh, you like Vonnegut?” exclaimed Emily, astonished and excited. “You gotta say that to Morgan. Reid knows all the books, too, and you should see Lucifer’s collection. He’s got them all, signed copies.”

And personal notes. Tons and tons of personal notes that Emily had devoured on a rainy weekend.

“Excuse me!” exclaimed Viper, utterly frustrated and disgusted. “Don't you think I don’t understand what you’re doing? One of my students copies my moves, and you're here to get inside my mind. Don't you see? I confronted my queen bee a long time ago.”

Lucifer had used that term earlier and dismissed it, but Emily never heard it before, “What's a queen bee?”

“You are. And so is every other confident girl who's loud when she's drunk.”

_Oh._

“The social butterfly, the alpha female,” realized Emily.

“Every student who's ever taken my class has had one in his life. And the first exercise my students have to complete is to confront their queen bee. It could be the girl who cheated on you or the prom date who stood you up. But you find them and squash them.”

Horror hit her like a ton of bricks. Vanessa Holden was the UnSub’s _queen bee_. He had known her. She turned away from Viper and called Hotch explaining him the situation. She hoped they could finish this case before another woman was hurt.

 _“Emily, where’s Lucifer?”_ asked Hotch over the phone.

_"...If you are unwilling to go down on them, don't expect them to do it for you. Actually, the tongue is an amazing tool..."_

"Giving crucial life lessons."

* * *

They caught the UnSub in time.

Robert ‘Bobby’ Parker.

Nobody else was hurt, though a bartender got quite a bit of a scare.

The night was still young and they would not fly back before tomorrow. It was Saturday night and Emily decided to go out. Morgan, Todd and even Reid joined her. They decided to stay as far away from Viper-style nightclubs as they could. Ultimately, at Lucifer’s suggestion, they landed in a nice, small tasteful place with less flashy music and no dancers outside of the patrons themselves. It was a bit like the bar they used to go to before Astra was opened. Lucifer was already in the club talking to the owner, while observing the club with watchful eyes.

When he saw them, he waved them over, “Ah, there you are. Mr. Crawford, these are the people you may thank for catching the killer and keeping your patrons and staff safe. Everyone, this is Simon Crawford, the owner of this establishment.”

“That makes it sound like a strip club,” laughed Mr. Crawford, standing close to Lucifer, but Emily could not say if they were ever intimate or not. Lucifer tended to call his former lovers by first name, so it could be that they knew each other on a purely professional basis as club owners (with Crawford simply being an affectionate type of character) or Lucifer having made a deal with him. Either way, it was impossible to tell.

“Nothing wrong with that, as long as the ‘no touch’ rule strictly applies,” said Lucifer, then he smiled, his eyes on a couple by the bar. Emily recognized the man being one of Lucifer’s students. He was a bit nervous and shy, but the girl – a rather shy, mousy girl herself – was listening patiently. He said something that made her laugh and his whole face lightened up with excitement. Lucifer gave him thumbs up, when his pupil looked over.

“You think these two will-“ began Crawford, but did not continue.

“Not tonight they won’t. After the third date, perhaps,” said Lucifer, rolling his eyes. “I’m surprised neither is requesting the presence of a chaperone.”

“Lucifer, not everyone is as ready to get down to business as you are,” admonished him the other club owner. “Some like to take their time.”

“Yes, well, at least I made him talk to her,” scoffed Lucifer. “Now that’s more like it.”

She followed his gaze and saw another class attendee with a woman, both very into the conversation and even more into what would follow that conversation. Lucifer had obviously given good advice on how to find your match.

Crawford shook his head, patted Lucifer on the shoulder and excused himself.

Todd approached him, “I was wrong about you. I’m sorry.”

Lucifer looked at her, “You weren’t wrong precisely. I do enjoy sex with anyone who desires it as long as they are capable of giving consent. Being married hasn’t changed that.”

“I know, but I made assumptions that aren’t true. I was not one bit better than Viper with his crap,” said she. “Or any other man who calls a woman with sexual desires a whore and calls them a cock tease for rejecting them.”

“Oh, Agent Todd, you are a thousand times better than a little cretin like Mr. Viper,” countered Lucifer, his eyes on the patrons in the club. In a way, he seemed like the guardian angel of desire, and Emily wondered how far off she was with this impression.

Todd nodded and smiled, her intelligent eyes on Lucifer. She knew he was not telling her the whole truth about himself, but it seemed like she was willing to accept that. Emily predicted these two to become excellent colleagues, but their relationship would always remain within the bounds of their work.

"You are a man with many secrets, Mr. Morningstar," smiled Todd. “But you’re honest and I like that.”

"My word is my bond, Agent Todd, and it’s Lucifer, please," chuckled Emily’s favorite angel. "As for your profile: not exactly, but you aren’t wrong."

He looked at Emily and winked.

Many secrets.

Not a man.

Clever devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes on Lucifer (TV):
> 
> \- Headcanon time: Candy is Ace… That’s it. I think she’s ace. I believe it fits.  
> \- Personal pet peeve: The whole “treating Lucifer like a child” theme that is a constant. Amenadiel, Maze, Chloe and many others throughout the show always act as if Lucifer could not make his own decisions and pressure him into being what they want him to be or what they expect him to be. He’s an immortal with I don’t know how many years on most of them… Don’t treat him like a child.  
>    
> Notes on Criminal Minds:  
> -I adore this episode, because Emily and Todd taking apart that misogynistic asshole gave me life. And the Morgan&Reid antics. You probably recognized a lot of quotes from the show. Far too good not to use.  
> This is one of the first episodes I had in mind when I inserted Lucifer into Criminal Minds.
> 
> Next up:   
> "4.11 Normal"  
> Oh boy...


	4. Normal (4.11)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of a bad case, Lucifer finds himself questioning the way he used to rule Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for the brilliant reviews. Haven't replied to all yet, but will do so soon.
> 
> Okay, I ventured way off original script here, but I just feel like this case will upset Lucifer quite a bit.

Morgan and Reid were quiet. They were on their way to Lux assuming that this was to where Lucifer disappeared the moment they stopped Norman Hill.

The Road Warrior.

If things were only as simple as the press tended to make things.

Norman Hill had been a normal guy, married with three children, working as an accountant at a firm where his wife also worked. From what they knew, he was an introverted, submissive, polite man, probably a bit unadventurous to the point of being boring, but a good family father.

Then the accident.

His youngest daughter, his little princess, died in a terrible car accident for which he had felt responsible… Not that he could have known that when he changed the flat tire of his car, his daughter would come out to help him only to be hit by another car. A terrible tragedy that was sad beyond belief.

It broke him. Bit by bit.

As a result, Norman Hill had suffered from a masculine identity crisis, and started to kill women on the streets, killing surrogates for the source of his true resentment and pain: the feeling of being powerless, being eaten away by guilt following the death of his daughter and projecting that onto his wife and remaining daughters.

In the end, he had suffered from a complete psychotic break, going on a highspeed chase, believing his family to be with him when he had likely killed them almost immediately after his first kill. The whole case had been a brutal mess leaving two members of their team struggling: Todd, whose job to inform the public had led to the death of two men by Hill’s hand, and Lucifer, who – in the beginning – had approached the case in a typical fashion: eager to punish the man who was killing women. Unlike the rest of the team, he was entirely unsympathetic when they heard of the daughter’s death.

_“I’m not denying that this is a sad, traumatizing situation. No parent should bury their own children, as I have told you before, but may I remind you that he’s killing people? People whose parents may have to bury them in return? There is no justification for his viciousness.”_

Reid had tried to explain the situation to him, _“Lucifer, he’s having a psychotic break. He’s lost his foothold to reality. He’s no more bound to reality than Claire Bates was.”_

_“He’s killing random people because he has not yet tried to kill his own wife and daughters. I would say that’s different from Ms. Bates.”_

He had been so very adamant.

So sure.

He had argued in favor of his judgment even on a highspeed chase on the freeway with Morgan on the wheel, his driving style slowly venturing toward ‘in the unlikely event of an emergency landing’ territory.

_“All I am saying is that men like him, they deserve Hell. They deserve to be punished. He’s killing people that have done nothing to him. He’s consciously provoking these attacks. This is all premeditated.”_

_“Lucifer, can we just postpone this conversation? I’m trying not to lose my lunch here.”_

_“Sorry,” said Morgan. “You alright?”_

_“Go, go!” said Emily instead of answering._

The car chase had ended suddenly with Norman Hill’s car turning over and him crawling out of the car. Lucifer had been on the prowl, the police officers ready to shoot.

That was the moment when Emily saw Lucifer stare at Morgan, or rather at the phone in his hand.

Morgan had then shouted for everyone to put down their guns before telling Norman to step away from the car.

_“My family is inside.”_

_“Nobody is in that car.”_

_“Your family’s gone. They’re gone, Norman. They were never there. It’s over. They were never with you.”_

_“No, but they were. They were-“_

Norman’s facial expression would haunt her dreams for years to come.

That moment of utter horror when he remembered shooting his wife and daughters several days prior.

That heartrending instant when his whole world fell apart as reality came crashing down on him.

 _“Oh, God, what did I do? What did I do? My family! My family! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! My family…”_ his screams had been cries of pure despair and absolute agony. Emily’s eyes had burned and she turned to the side while Morgan arrested the broken man on the ground.

_“Reid, where’s Lucifer?”_

By the time the team had reunited, they knew for sure that Lucifer was gone. Rossi had stayed with a distressed Todd, Hotch wrapped things up with the task force, and they had decided to check whether he was at Lux.

To their surprise, one of the bouncers recognized them and waved them in.

“What happened? The boss didn’t look so hot,” said he.

“Bad case. Do you know where he is?”

“Agent, should you find a way to keep track on the guy without installing a GPS under his skin, let me know. I can tell you he entered and hasn’t left, but last time I said he was in the club, he came through here entering the club with a smile on his face wishing me a good morning, so… he might be inside, but I don’t know for sure.”

“Thank you,” said Morgan and they entered.

Before they could properly look for Delilah Curtis, she was by their side.

“What the hell happened?” she asked angrily. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

“How is he?” asked Reid.

“I don’t know. Linda isn’t in town. Maze and Linda decided to visit the Grand Canyon, because Maze has never seen it and Linda decided to take a vacation. All her patients are temporarily being taken care of by her colleagues, except for Lucifer for obvious reasons. But he won’t call her, I know, because Maze told him not to call barring the end of the world, and that’s not what this is about, is it?”

“Where is he? Penthouse?”

“No, he said that is my home now and that he doesn’t want to be high up anyway. He’s downstairs, in Maze’ _playroom_.”

“Maze’ _playroom_?”

“It’s where she trains the girls. Self-defense and all. I know she and Lucifer occasionally sparred in there. Look,” said she, trying to contain nervous energy, “Lucifer is one of my favorite people in the world and I hate seeing him hurt. I’ve known him for almost as long as he retired to Earth. He’s never been happier than when he talks about you and Astra and this slice of life he carved out for himself both here and in DC, so I’m not going to scold you for whatever happened. I know it wasn’t your intention to hurt him. You just… do whatever you usually do to make him feel better, okay?”

“We will,” promised Morgan.

She ushered them over to the staircase and led them downstairs.

“That’s odd,” said she coming to a halt in front of a concrete door giving Emily the impression that this was some sort of bomb-shelter. “This door has never been closed. I didn’t even know there was a door,” she frowned.

“It’s us, man, let us in,” said Morgan. “I can’t open this door, you’ve got to let us in.”

“Listen to them, Lucifer. I don’t know what happened, but I’m worried about you. Let them in.”

The heavy door opened, but Lucifer was not on the other side. Emily felt a moment of fear, but she trusted him. She was the first to step through. Delilah mouthed ‘good luck’ and left.

Emily could not see a thing.

“Lucifer, are you okay?” asked Reid.

“Is the jet waiting for you?”

Lucifer’s voice was deep and rougher than Emily was used to. It sounded like his habit of smoking had caught up with him.

Or, she suddenly realized, it came from burned airways and lungs. That explained why every instinct told her to run and why Lucifer was sitting in near-complete darkness. The devil was in the house.

“Hotch said we wouldn’t be flying anytime soon. We got time,” said Morgan softly.

“Then you should enjoy your time in LA. It’s a wonderful city after all. Despite the glamour, the hypocrisy, the fake façade… it welcomes you.”

“Nah, thanks,” replied Morgan. “I’m good right here, with you.”

“Don’t you have better things to do?” was the harsh reply, the roughness and low cadence of his voice adding to the tension.

“Not right now I don’t,” said Morgan and sat down with a sigh, which Reid and Emily instinctively copied.

“Neither do we,” said Emily firmly.

“You were right,” said Lucifer. “Is this what you want to hear? You were right and I was wrong. He has lost touch with reality, his mind broke and he killed people as a result. His actions were fueled by grief, but there was no malice in his actions, no true evil. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone, least of all his loved ones, yet he did. Does that satisfy you?”

“We’ll leave if that’s what you want, but please, tell us what upset you.”

“More people are blessed and go to Heaven than are damned, but let me put today’s case into perspective. Dr. Reid, how many murderers live in the global population?”

“There is an average of 7.6 intentional homicides per 100,000 people worldwide.”

“Thank you. Let’s go by the lowest estimate and say that only murders lead to damnation, which isn’t true, and to slightly increase our numbers, let’s say that each murder was committed by another person.” Lucifer quietly. “The rough estimate of people who have ever lived on Earth is around 100 billion-“

“That means 7.6 million people have been damned to Hell.”

“That number doesn’t even come close to the real deal,” said Lucifer. “There are millions more, tens of millions. And we’re talking humans only. How many Norman Hills are there, you think?”

“Lucifer,” said Morgan softly, “from what we know about what’s going on down there, you got the place pretty well organized and a hell of a lot to do, pun kind of intended. You do your best to locate souls that wind up in Hell that shouldn’t be there and you help them, but you cannot be the only one responsible for that. It’s impossible. What about Heaven? Don’t they have some sort of safeguard in place to make sure no innocents wind up in Hell?”

“Of course there are, but we’re talking about a murderer who killed his wife and children. His guilt alone will damn him.”

“What about Azrael?”

“It’s not her job to judge the souls she brings. They are tagged for a destination and that’s what she’s acting on. For the most part, humans decide their own fate, though divine interference is possible. Divine interference as in… Dad. I can’t change tags. I can tag someone for Hell. I cannot remove it. What comes after, though, that’s when Heaven and Hell really come into play. Heaven doesn’t care about the souls that aren’t brought to its doorsteps. Heaven simply makes sure that nobody was misdelivered. Two archangels and a whole litter of baby siblings make sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be. Uriel might judge arriving souls… he sees every pattern. Michael is in charge of the Silver City. In Hell,” he sighed. “We’re understaffed, so to speak. Demons aren’t fallen angels. I’m the only one. Demons are the offspring of Lilith and Lilith was born out of… I would call this the cosmic Cambrian explosion. Only Earth didn’t exist at the time.” Emily wished she could see Reid’s face. Lilith was not an angel then, but what she was, Lucifer did not elborate. “I have help and my demons know their tasks well and execute them to my satisfaction, but… How many did I miss? How many punish themselves for breaking apart? How many did I punish on top of their own judgment? It’s my responsibility that souls get their due, but how many slipped through the cracks? How many have I tortured that would, instead, deserve mercy? Celestial justice is flawed, I know. Stars, I’m its embodiment and I did my best to make sure no innocents are hurt, but a man like Norman Hill, I… I didn’t read the situation correctly. What if I…?“ He trailed off, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Lucifer,” began Morgan, “let me stop you right there. You knew the second you saw him. Just because you didn’t understand it before, doesn’t mean you would have punished some one like him. Hill’s ‘spirit’ was not well. He did not make the conscious choice. He broke. I know your demons would have noticed a similar case. That is if a Norman Hill would go to Hell in the first place.”

“Are you so sure about that, Agent Morgan?”

The voice echoed in the room sounding cruel and merciless. They knew it was Lucifer doing some trick on them, but that did not stop Emily from flinching.

“That scream horrified you. Don’t deny it, I saw.”

“It was hard to hear, you’ve got to admit.”

Lucifer scoffed, “If we can make them scream like that, it’s a job well done. Breaking human souls is easy. All you need to do is watch their hell-loop and play with that. Give them hope and rip it from them. Hope is what makes torture so trivial, almost boring. You dangle the hope of escape and relief right in front of them and you rip it from them. How many times have I made them scream like that? I lost count. Now I wonder how many of them were like Norman Hill. What did you say again? The tragedy that ‘turns a normal person a serial killer.’”

“His mind would not have been well. Your demons would have noticed,” repeated Morgan firmly.

“Loki loves his children.”

Emily just wondered how many layers of conversation they were actually having, “Elaborate please? Are you refering to the Norse god? What does he have to do with any of this?”

“I told you, I’m putting him in charge of dealing with the insane ones. He is insane, too, so that fits perfectly.”

“You failed to mention that the Norse God of Chaos is in charge of that particular corner of Hell,” said Reid.

“Now you know.”

“Your point being?” asked Emily. “Loki loves his children. So what?”

“Loki hates the world, and there’s nothing he despises more than the Aesir, but he adores his children. Children that were ripped from him one by one, most in unimaginably cruel fashion and against his will. Imagine him in charge of a soul that murdered its two daughters. I guarantee you he wouldn’t react well. Last thing he would do, is ask for my opinion.”

“Who else is in charge?” asked Morgan.

“Excuse me? I said-“

“I hear you, but you also said that he’s only in charge if he behaves, which he usually doesn’t. Who else is taking care of them?”

“My demons.”

“Do they have similar issues?”

“No, of course not. I know better than to cluster demons with the same prejudice in the same section. Prejudice always leads to injustice.”

“So, if your demon feel Loki isn’t being objective, what do they do?”

“Call me. Or Maze. Not Dromos, though. He loves children and would not be one bit more merciful.”

“I think you got things covered then,” said Morgan softly. “You’d find your Norman Hills and he would be treated appropriately.”

“Oh, to have a human’s faith!” was the desperate reply.

“I lost my faith in Heaven’s help years ago,” said Morgan coldly and Emily wondered what on Earth he was referring to. Part of her had her suspicions, but she forced herself not to dwell on it. “I have faith in _you_ , your code of honor and your thrive for justice. I trust you to make things right, including Heaven’s mistakes. It shouldn’t be your task, but there you are trying your very best, regardless.”

Shadows retreated, revealing…

Oh boy.

They had often told him that he could reveal his true face to them if he wished, that he had to stop viewing his own face as a form of punishment. She still firmly believed that, but it was one thing to have seen images and another to be within twenty feet of Lucifer when he was in his angelic form. He was still wearing his suit, but his head and hands were an angry, burned red that let her wonder how on Earth he could still give a damn about justice. It was heartbreaking and she wanted to hug him, but it looked like it still hurt beyond belief so she did not dare.

“Are you sure about that, Agent Morgan?” he asked while he straightened himself.

“What?” replied Morgan, unimpressed. “Am I supposed to be scared now? I know you. I’m not afraid of you.”

Faster than Emily had ever seen him, Lucifer was suddenly standing in front of the profiler putting the two and half inches he had on Morgan to good use as he looked down on him, his eyes red and inhuman. He lifted his hand, but did not touch Morgan’s cheeks, “Are you sure about that? Absolutely sure?”

“You saved my life,” said Morgan resolutely and calmly, his eyes never wavering. “I prayed to God a thousand times, addressed every angel I knew at the time, and no response ever came. I didn’t even ask for your help and you were there. I’m never going to be afraid of you.” With that, he reached out with his left hand and guided Lucifer’s right to his own neck, while gently grasping Lucifer’s in turn, bringing their foreheads together. Watching red wash away and Lucifer reassuming his human skin was surreal.

“Have I told you lately that I don’t understand you, Agent Morgan?” said Lucifer quietly. “And you, Dr. Reid, I can hear you thinking.”

“Nothing,” said Reid. “I just… thought our prayers would help you, is all.”

Lucifer looked from the genius to Emily to Morgan.

“Silly humans,” was all he said. When they did not say anything, he continued. “Thinking you can heal what was marred when humanity was still in its craddle. There’s a good chance you’ll never see a difference between what was before I meet you and what will be in…” he closed his eyes. “Energy feeds to power first, which means I’ll be the Lightbringer again long before I look whole again.”

“And we’re just lighters trying to energize the sun,” said Reid, resigned.

“No,” scoffed Lucifer, but his tone was mild. “You’re so much more than that. Giving hope to the devil.” He scoffed again. “Unique. That’s what you are. What do I do?”

“What do you mean?” asked Emily quietly.

“I need to know how many Norman Hills slipped through the cracks. It’s bad enough I know of one case where divine justice utterly failed, but I cannot remain here with the knowledge that…”

He did not complete his sentence, but it was obvious that the thought of innocents being harmed was too painful to bear.

“How can you make sure?” asked Emily.

“I could go and check, but…”

“But what?” asked Morgan.

“Taking the wings back means reaccepting the mantle and I won’t ever do that again. But angel wings are the only way for me to reach the Gates of Hell and Amenadiel is patrolling the gates. If he sees me enter with my wings back, he’ll never let me out again.”

“You’re the devil,” said Emily. “The Lord of Hell. Are you telling me that the Gates of Hell are the only entrance?”

“Emily’s right,” said Reid. “Given everything you told us, nobody is capable of walking a finer line between following celestial rules and breaking them. Isn’t there a way for you to sneak in and out without your brother noticing?”

After a moment’s silence, Lucifer chuckled, “See? This is why Dr. Linda is wrong. All these emotions are bloody inconvenient. They are a hindrance. They keep me from thinking properly. How do you do it, Dr. Reid? How do you remain such a kind, caring soul and yet keep your remarkable intellect intact?”

Uh-oh. Lucifer was shifting through his emotions quicker than Emily could follow. Thankfully, they could trust Reid to keep up.

“The truth is,” said their genius, “I am trying to copy you. You’re socialable and highly capable of interacting with others. I don’t really have that. My attempts at interacting with others are awkward more often than not.”

“That only makes me a high-functioning psychopath to use your terminology. I’m capable of imitating empathy, but actually feeling these emotions seem to entirely eradicate my ability to think rationally,” replied Lucifer.

“I’m pretty sure that if you were a psychopath, Earth and half of the universe would no longer exist,” contradicted Morgan with a scoff. “You’re not human. That means you live through and act on emotions differently. It seems to me you’ve suppressed your feelings at least since you Fell.”

“He’s right,” said Emily. “Getting back in touch with your emotions might seem a bit overwhelming at times, and thus, you’ll struggle with them occasionally, but you have two therapists and the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI by your side to help you work through that. You’re doing just fine.”

“And if it’s any consolation,” said Reid, “know that humans also struggle with accepting and properly acting on our emotions. I… can’t always read people. I can tell you how they behave and why, but sympathizing only works well with people I…. love or who resemble someone I care about.” Great, now Emily wanted to hug the idiot devil and her favorite genius; neither seemed receptive to that urge.

Morgan had no such qualms and threw his arm around Reid’s shoulder, “Well, from a well-adjusted and totally average side of things, you’re both doing just fine.”

Emily grinned and put her arm around Lucifer’s hips, “Agreed, though I seriously doubt any member of this team is ‘well-adjusted’ or ‘normal’ for that matter.”

Lucifer waved that away, “Normal is boring. And apparently, it doesn’t keep you from becoming a serial killer.”

The joke came so out of nowhere, Morgan actually spluttered, “That’s just wrong, man.”

This was Lucifer for you, though. He bounced back quickly, especially if he decided that emotions were inconvenient and he locked them away in a box for later examination. If Lucifer were human, he would have been eligible for any profession that demanded compartmentalization. Thankfully, he had the strictest moral code Emily had ever encountered or, devil or not, he would have been a very dangerous individual.

“So, you’re going down there?” asked Reid, worried.

“Yes, I have to know,” said Lucifer, sobbering quickly. “Thank you for coming. Tell Delilah that I’ll be fine and that I’ll be talking to her as soon as I’m back. I will see you at the airport. Don’t wait for me, however. Just leave when you’re ready. I’ll be back.”

“Wait!” exclaimed Reid. “How are you going to go there? Is there some sort of reverse summoning circle?”

“What keeps the world together, apart from obvious, physical means? Or rather, what connects the Heavens, the Earth and the Underworld?” Lucifer smiled that typical smile he always did when he was about to awe Reid.

“The World Tree is real?” asked Reid, wide-eyed.

“Yggdrasil is the easiest way to travel anywhere,” smiled Lucifer. “If you know how to use it.”

“Could I?”

“No,” said Lucifer apologetically. “No human could. Those gifted enough might see it, but even they could never use it. The makeup of humans doesn’t really allow physical movement through Yggdrasil.”

“Gifted? Like magic?”

Reid practically bounced with excitement at the thought.

“There are no Harry Potters flying around on brooms, Dr. Reid,” smiled Lucifer. “But some human may have non-human ancestors.”

“Like angels?” said Emily.

“There is not such thing as a nephilim. It’s a ridiculous premise, and no, there won’t ever be one. Archangels cannot have children. We are sterile. And if you think the only angel to have ever had sex is me, you’ve been reading too many chastity vows for human priests and project that onto angels,” said Lucifer coolly.

“Demigods,” breathed Reid. “There are hundreds of stories out there and you’ve told us of Loki and a range of other ancients gods. Are you telling us that demigods are real?”

“Demigod _lines_ are real,” clarified Lucifer. “Zeus was a mean, selfish, cruel bastard that spawned more demigod lines than any other born from… that’s a long story. Demigods are always mortal. Breeding with mortals spawns mortal offspring. There is no such thing as semi-mortal. You are either mortal or immortal. Demigod lines carry the blood of what you call the ancient gods. They’re dying out, however. A few more generations and nothing will remain. Most have left Earth, and the ones still remaining would rather die than spawn another line.”

“Because your Dad disapproves?” asked Reid.

“No,” said Lucifer quietly. “Because no parent is prepared or willing to watch their children die.”

“You know some of them,” said Morgan. It was not a question.

The sound that escaped Lucifer was not in any way pleasant, “I know _all_ of them. Thing is,” he continued, “an angel can hurt another angel, but we don’t kill. How I wish I could say that about _them_. Immortality simply means that you don’t age or die of a disease. It doesn’t mean you cannot be destroyed.” He scoffed. “And destroy each other they did.”

Emily knew that tone, too. He had known them, probably known some of them as friends and lovers, and they had hurt each other, possibly asked him to take sides. When he inevitably refused due to his moral code, they destroyed each other regardless.

“If you will excuse me, I have to go to Hell.”

With that, he turned and vanished, the shadows closing in on the devil like curtains.

“Did you see anything?” asked Reid.

“Nope. I expected that to be… flashier,” said Morgan.

“Something tells me that flashy Lucifer is not something we should hope for,” said Emily.

On their way back, Norman Hill was still on their minds, but they mostly discussed the idea of demigod lines and wondering what gods still remained and where the others had gone. And how they would explain the whole situation to Rossi and Hotch with Todd present.

* * *

It turned out to be easier than expected. They had about five minutes to bring the two others up to speed and then told Todd that Lucifer had some business to attend to and that he might take a commercial flight back to DC.

When they arrived at the airport three hours later, Lucifer was already sitting in the plane.

“Oh good, you’re here!” he exclaimed, looking relaxed and happy. “Let’s go. If we leave early enough, I might even be able to play my set at Astra.”

Todd was working on her case files, lost in thought. Lucifer sat in his usual seat with Morgan to his right.

“How many Norman Hills?” she heard him ask quietly.

“None.”

“Told you,” smiled Morgan. “It may be flawed, but you’re the best there is.”

“I’m the only one there is,” replied Lucifer rolling his eyes exasperatedly.

“And you’re damn good at it.”

Lucifer chuckled, but he sobbered quickly, eyes staring into nothing.

“Did anyone see you?” asked Rossi quietly.

“No, but…”

“But?”

“I saw _them_. My, you know,” said he, obviously not willing to test Todd’s hearing range. It was clear he was talking about his demons. “They miss me.”

“No need to sound so surprised,” said Morgan. “We miss you too when you’re not with us.”

Lucifer swallowed dryly, “I don’t want to go back. I _never_ want to go back.”

“Then don’t,” said Hotch softly. “But please keep in mind that it’s okay to miss them in return. This was your home.”

“I never wanted that to be my _home_ ,” sneered Lucifer.

Hotch breathed, paused and then said resolutely, “Sometimes our home isn’t a place. Sometimes, home is people.”

Thoughtfully, Lucifer stared at Hotch, but he did not comment on the suggestion, obviously mulling it over in his head.

As if fate decided to underline their point, JJ was waiting for them at the BAU with Will by her side and Henry in her arms.

“I thought I told you to get this place out of your head for a while,” said Hotch softly.

“I’m sorry,” muttered Garcia pushing through with a milk bottle in her hand, “I thought we’d all need a bit of light after this case.”

Lucifer’s eyes were trained on JJ and and Will, “You two look radiant.”

“Thank you, _cher_ ,” said Will, amused. “Now, will you do me a favor and actually hold him this time?”

“If that is what you desire,” muttered Lucifer, tentatively stepped forward and held out his arms. He looked about two seconds away from panicking, but he held onto Henry, his eyes entirely fixed on the baby. The baby was very quietly staring back, fascinated, and Emily wondered if the baby could see more than an adult.

After about five seconds of holding the baby, he handed it back to the nearest parent, which happened to be Will.

Emily watched Hotch approaching JJ telling her how much they missed her. Will observed them fondly.

“This place holds so many dark memories for her,” he said quietly while Garcia handed out drinks to Reid and Hotch and some juice for JJ, and they naturally slipped into a conversation about everything and nothing, “but she’ll always want to come back, because… you are her home. And that makes the darkness so much more bearable. This job makes her happy, and I wouldn’t dream of keeping her from it. Henry and I, we’re happiest with her, but we’re good without her, when she’s out doing something she loves and that makes her feel needed.”

Lucifer stared at Will with an unreadable expression.

“Now, I know you’re not afraid of some male affection,” continued the New Orleans native, his eyes on Lucifer.

“Mr. LaMontagne, are you propositioning to me?” asked Lucifer aghast, which earned the entire room’s attention.

“In a way I do, yes,” drawled the formed detective flippantly. “You see, I have my suspicions why you won’t hold him, so I’m not going to force you to, but I want him to know that – despite your hesitation – you’re there for him, so… you get to put your arms around me if you help me hold him.”

“Tempting the devil, are you?” grinned Lucifer. “You are a devious man.”

“Come on, cher, I know you want to,” was the calm reply. He stepped slightly to the side letting Lucifer gently wrap his arm around him, his long arms easily mirroring Will’s hold on the baby, his chin resting on Will’s shoulder, who took it with the ease of someone utterly confident and secure in his own skin. Lucifer did not actually touch Henry, but for the first time, he actually looked at the small child without looking like he wanted to bolt. When he let go, obviously having enjoyed hugging the man more than being in close proximity with the baby, he reached out, his thumb hovering over the baby.

He seemed deep in thought and slightly hesitant, but then he said quietly, “May Light never shun you, and darkness never scare you. May the sun never burn you and the stars watch over you. May Hell protect you and Heaven welcome you. May change never frighten you and free will guide you. Be defiant and kind. Look to your parents for guidance, but become your own person. Take care of yourself with the certainty that you don’t only contain to your own Light but also theirs. May Dad bless you.”

With that, he gently and briefly touched the boy’s forehead.

Emily kind of knew and expected it, but it still took her aback when, for a brief moment, the spot where Lucifer had touched him seemed to glisten, before it disappeared.

“Okay,” breathed Lucifer. “That-“ he looked around, obviously afraid.

“What happened?” asked JJ.

Lucifer turned to her, looking even more terrified, “Well…”

“ _Lucifer_.”

“Dad listened and accepted the blessing. Obviously. So, your son received the devil’s blessing, which in turn was blessed by God.”

“Did you tell my son to become a rebel?”

“In my defense,” said Lucifer taking a few steps back, obviously knowing better than to confront JJ when she asked a question in this manner, “your husband practically asked me to-“

“Oh, I am aware of that, thank you,” said JJ.

“-and what did you expect me to do? To wish for good health? Then call in Raphael, I am sure he’ll bless the boy. For him to serve Dad faithfully or to obey you without question? Why on Earth would I do that? Also, I didn’t expect Dad to listen.”

“Are you saying you didn’t mean it?” asked JJ sternly.

“Of course I did! My word is my bond,” countered Lucifer, now defiant.

“Good,” said she with a smile, “because that was beautiful. Thank you.”

“Oh,” said he, a bit stunned, but he happily accepted the kiss on his cheek.

“But if he becomes a rebellious teenager, I will so make you talk to him.”

“Please, as if I could ever be as scary as you, Agent Jareau,” said Lucifer, bowing slightly. “If you want a position as head-torturer, I am pretty sure Maze will readily hand over the mantle. You’d be good at it, too.”

The rest of the night was spent in great company and Emily slowly forgot about the strain of the case.

“What happened today?” muttered JJ as they watched Morgan gingerly put a blanket over Lucifer who had fallen asleep on the visitor couch in Rossi’s office, while Reid watched over the sleeping devil protectively.

“Lucifer visited Hell,” replied Emily. “He was gone for at least an hour.”

“Wait, didn’t he say-“

“By Hell years, he remained there for at least 3600 years,” whispered Reid. “Probably more.”

“No wonder he’s exhausted,” said Will, obviously trying to wrap his head around that.

“Interestingly enough, I don’t think the time frame exhausted him but rather the circumstances,” said Hotch quietly before addressing JJ and Will. “Thank you three for coming. We needed it.”

“Anytime, Hotch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_estimates  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_tree


	5. Cold Comfort (4.15)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave worries about JJ. JJ makes a mistake. Lucifer does not react well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your support. I adore your comments, they make me happy.
> 
> Now this chapter was painful to write. 
> 
> The thing is, I love JJ, but in this episode, she did a few questionable things - at least in my opinion - and from canon, there has been Reid predicting that she was 'a mean girl' in high school.  
> While Emily isn't afraid to say right out what bothers her and can come across as blunt and confident, JJ is the one that hardly ever hits, but when she does, she's harsh. There are a few examples of that especially in seasons 6 and onward (I know the series more or less well up until season 11 before I stopped) leading me to the conclusion that JJ is both your starkest defender and your harshest critic.
> 
> Yeah... That's how I rewrote this episode.

Dave was worried about JJ.

He remembered how difficult it had been to return to the BAU. All the darkness seemed so unimaginably darker than it used to be; it gave you the feeling that there was no limit to the monsters out there. She was doing an excellent job as always, but she was too personally involved in this present case.

That could not be helped sometimes, especially considering that, compared to the profilers, she was much more closely involved with the family of the victims and was required to form a connection so that they in return would trust the BAU. Even taking that into account, however, David knew she was too close.

Detective Ron Fullwood was also under a lot of pressure, so the experienced profiler could not fault him for being desperate, but it was very ill-advised to give any sort of leeway to psychics. They were master manipulators and if you gave them the smallest opportunity they would inject themselves into the investigation, fester and make a lot of money in the process; Dave knew this from personal and painful experience. It was too late, however: Stanley Usher was already taking root having convinced Sandra Lombardi, the mother, as well as successfully involved the detective and JJ in his schemes.

Therefore, it was a relief when Lucifer – who had joined Reid and Morgan to the ME – finally arrived, took one glimpse at Usher and scoffed. Their colleague could not have displayed more angelic pride and arrogance if he tried.

“Good luck with that,” said he, looking at the necklace in the psychic’s hands, “while we’re at it, why don’t you predict her future from the necklace?”

“Mr. Morningstar-“ admonished him JJ, but Lucifer simply continued.

“I mean, not that objectives cannot absorb its wearer’s essence, but they’re not mood rings, they aren’t capable of capturing an instance of terror compared to a lifetime filled with average happiness and they most certainly do not stay connected to its wearer as some sort of supernatural GPS after they were taken off -“

“Mr. Morningstar,” said Dave, barely suppressing his delight at the devil’s resound criticism of the psychic, “perhaps we should let Mr. Usher explain his methods to us.”

“You may not believe in psychometry, Mr. Morningstar, but it is real. There is true power residing within an object, regardless of its wearer,” said Usher calmly while using his height to intimidate Lucifer, and Dave was very tempted to capture the occasion on film.

Lucifer met the psychic’s gaze, his eyes wide and inhuman, “Oh, you are faithless man, aren’t you, Mr. Usher? Now tell me, what is it was you want?”

“I…I…” stuttered Usher, but looked away quickly. “Nothing. It’s nothing. You- you’re psychic, too?”

Lucifer scoffed, “No, I’m not, and you’re both right and wrong. There _can_ be true power in an object, but not in this one.” He took the necklace and gave it back to the mother addressing her directly. “He’s nothing but a parasite, a convincing one. After all, _I_ almost believe his sincerity, but you shouldn’t be looking to him for help.”

“I need my daughter to be alive,” said she, very close to tears.

“We cannot guarantee that,” said Dave before Lucifer could say anything, “but we will do all we can to bring her back to you.”

Judging by the look on her face, he might as well be the one to have abducted her daughter. “That is not good enough.” With that, she walked away.

Visibly upset, JJ confronted them, “Hope is all she has, why are you trying to take it away from her?”

“Agent Rossi is realistic,” countered Lucifer, either not seeing or not caring that JJ was not being objective. “We cannot make promises regarding her daughter’s chances of survival.”

JJ’s eyes flashed focusing her ire on the devil, “You.” Dave winced at the tone and he wished that Hotch were here; the Unit Chief always had a calming effect on her. “You have all the power in the world but instead of finding the girl, you’re wasting your abilities by bewitching someone who’s only trying to help. A mother is about to lose her daughter because you are too hung up on some stupid celestial rule that you never bother to explain in detail. Instead, you uselessly poke around in the dark alongside us.“

Lucifer at first reared back, visibly stung, but he pivoted quickly the moment she mentioned the ‘stupid celestial rules.’

“I didn’t make the rules, Agent Jareau,” said he very quietly. “I merely follow them.”

“Follow?!” she retorted disbelievingly. “You disobey your father at every turn. You being here on Earth is apparently already a violation of the rules you defend when it suits you and which you defy at will without suffering from any consequences. Rules that condemned my own sister, although she never hurt anybody.”

“JJ, what’s going on?” Hotch’s voice was an unexpected temporary reprieve from the tension that was building up. Morgan and Reid both looked surprised and kind of shocked.

Lucifer was very still.

Unnaturally still.

He did not say a word, his eyes fixed on JJ.

“Rossi and Lucifer used their prejudice against psychics to embarass Mr. Usher and were unnecessarily upsetting Mrs. Lombardini by doing it all in front of her.”

JJ did not lie, but her report was severely lacking impartiality. Still, she was correct in that he probably should have criticized Usher out of Mrs. Lombardini’s hearing range.

Lucifer, apparently, did not agree. He chuckled humorlessly, “Right. You’re leaving out the part where you accused me of not doing enough to save Ms. Lombardini. All because of some ‘stupid celestial rule’ I never bother to explain properly. Has it perhaps occurred to you that there are some rules that you cannot fathom? That the reason I don’t explain has little to do with laziness and rather with the knowledge that understanding cosmic rules is beyond your mental capacity? How human of you.”

“Oh please, spare me your angelic, holier-than-thou attitude. For having fallen, you emit moral superiority in spades,” she snapped back, and Dave almost winced at her harshness.

“JJ-“ breathed Morgan, horrified, but JJ continued without reacting to the reprimand.

“Reid has so far always been able to keep up with you, and unlike you, he actually does his best to explain things to the rest of us.”

“Dr. Reid could not properly understand how I synchronized the stars to shine upon the planet with ten percent more intensity than normal,” scoffed Lucifer. “And that doesn’t even come close to complexity of the laws I uphold, Agent Jareau. Forgive me for ‘not bothering’, but fine.” He walked away and out of sight.

“JJ,” said Hotch quietly, “Let’s talk.”

He led her into one of the offices for a more private conversation.

Morgan frowned, “That is bound to prolong our investigation unnecessarily. What’s going on with her?”

Dave exhaled and decided to explain, “I thought it would be easy. Coming back to the BAU. I’d done it before. I looked forward to working with Hotch again, and I was more than ready to hunt down the bad guys. When I was actually faced with the bleak reality of the work I… floundered. I’d forgotten how bad it could be. Everything seemed so much more terrible than I remembered. JJ is now going through that as well, and with her first case dealing with someone’s child…”

“Our cases will always deal with someone’s child,” protested Emily, worried.

“I know,” said David. “Trust me. It’ll get better.”

In that moment, Lucifer entered via Shadow Stride, in his hand a small device that easily fit into the palm of his hand. It looked like an ornament made out of gems, his face as cold as the stone in his hands. He stalked toward the office where Hotch and JJ were. Dave reached out, “Wait.”

“Let go of me, Agent Rossi,” growled Lucifer. “She wants to play soul-seeker, who am I to hold her back?”

“You have to understand, Lucifer, that she’s unused to the horror that this job brings. It doesn’t justify the accusations she made, but-“

“She’s been gone for only a few weeks,” he retorted. “What difference-“ He interrupted himself when the door opened and Hotch left with JJ. He handed over the gem.

“There,” said Lucifer, “the soul-catcher. Have fun. Using it turns off the sun. You’ll find her, probably, but you might kill thousands in the resulting mass panic, millions more from the resulting wars and billions more if you don’t know what you’re doing. And we’re just talking humans. Go ahead.” JJ held the device in her hand; properly horrified in the face of the kind of power and responsibility she now possessed. Lucifer’s expression did not waver. “I’m not stopping you. Do you really think you’re the first one to accuse me of not doing enough? One of these days you humans will cause me to feel sympathy with Dad. ‘God, help me! ‘Make me rich!’ ‘Protect my loved ones!’ ‘Tell me what to do, dear God!’ ‘Make sure I pass this exam, my Lord’…” His tone was mocking and cold. “Tough luck. He gave you free will and us angels very little leeway to do anything about it. If you destroy yourselves, that is your choice. I tried to prevent it a few times, but it turns out that humans are very, very stubborn. As for Ms. Lombardini: I don’t know her. I don’t know what she sounds like; I wouldn’t even know what to look for. All that remains is the soul-catcher and even for me, it’s not that easy to find someone whose Light I don’t know. That is apart from the fact that I know what will happen if I use it. I would knowingly kill countless humans and other creatures. But please, if you know better, go ahead. Use it. I, on the other hand, will continue to ‘poke around in the dark’ supporting the BAU and trusting in their abilities and methods to find Ms. Lombardini in time.” He looked at Hotch. “Apologies, Agent Hotchner, for wasting precious time.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” said the Unit Chief, looking less than pleased about the entire situation. “Reid, Morgan, what do you have?”

Dave winced this time. Lucifer had joined the other two to the ME, and for Hotch not to acknowledge that made it clear that he was quite pissed.

“All bodies were embalmed while they were still alive. Curiously, the ME found that their ears were double-pierced. And…” Morgan hesitated. “There were signs for sexual contact post mortem.”

“Necrophiliac,” breathed Emily. “This isn’t good.”

She was right. Necrophiliacs had no use for a live victim. If he abducted women, chances were he killed them. Thankfully, Reid further elaborated on the guy’s MO. He was changing his victims and it was possible that the victim needed to transform into that woman prior to killing her. Therefore, the longer Brooke Lombardini held out, the longer she stayed alive.

It gave them the first real lead on the case. Necrophiliacs generally did not become murderers, but they usually were looking for jobs near dead bodies. He would have a history of inappropriate post mortem conduct, cadaver theft and graveyard robbery. Ultimately, since they had the killer’s DNA, they were ordered to pursue two different lines of investigation: half of the team would collect swab samples from people convicted for any of the aforementioned crimes, the rest would talk to cemetary workers, morticians and coroners to deliver the profile in order to find out whether they recognized the description. Lucifer, Dave and Hotch were tasked to do the latter.

The devil noticed that Hotch was tense and decided to tag along with Dave, for once accepting that – as a civilian consultant – he was not allowed to interview people concerning a case without an agent present.

“Do you know why Agent Hotchner wishes to talk to me?” asked Lucifer, apparently not quite understanding what was going on in Aaron’s head.

“Abduction cases are always urgent. We don’t have time for infighting and needless discussion. Hotch hears the clock ticking and the conflict between you and JJ did not help Brooke Lombardini and she has to have priority,” explained David calmly.

“What was I supposed to do? Agent Jareau accused me of…” he stopped and sighed. “I didn’t know she felt that way.”

The mortician, Mr. Becker, was already approaching them, but they had enough time for Dave to say, “She doesn’t. When you briefly returned to Hell a few weeks ago, how did it feel being there?”

“The same as ever,” said Lucifer, confused. “It’s Hell. It’s what it is. Relief knowing that I’m not punishing souls that don’t deserve it. Guilt both for hiding from my demons and for letting them manage Hell all by themselves. Satisfisfaction for taking care of a couple of souls, which were on my list for additional punishment.” He was quiet for a moment and then said softly, “I felt certain. I was no longer some eccentric club owner who solves crimes on the side or an immortal that tries to appear human and who pretends to be retired because the thought of returning to Hell was too daunting to entertain. I was… a king with the absolute knowledge that nobody, not even Dad, can touch me there; a fallen archangel and yet powerful enough to shape Hell to my will. Judge, jury and executioner of celestials laws.”

Dave did not know what to say to that. He had expected Lucifer to go through the same, unexpected ordeal as JJ. Now he was facing a new, rather terrifying problem, “Why did you return then?”

Lucifer scoffed, “Because I promised I would. Because while I may have enjoyed the brief rush of _home_ , of confidence and power, all I had to remember was why I left in the first place, and I refuse to accept the position as Hell’s king as long as celestial justice has such unforgivable gaps as to enable the torture of innocent children.”

“Agent Rossi, Mr. Morningstar?” said Mr. Becker, greeting them politely thus effectively ending their conversation. “How can I help you?”

He led them to the room where he prepared the bodies and sighed after Dave told him what was going on, “It happens in the industry. We put an end to it when it does.”

Dave had talked to a lot of morticians, one stranger than the other, therefore it was nice to talk to a man who seemed rather level-headed.

He then mentioned Ivan Bakunas, a suspect who definitely fit the profile and whom Mr. Becker called ‘odd, even for this business’ and accused of paying ‘too much attention to the female cadavers.’

Lucifer, who had been inspecting a body with puzzled fascination, used a moment of silence to turn around and say, “May I ask you something? It’s been bothering me for… so many years. You seem to be a very rational human being.” Mr. Becker nodded and Lucifer continued, “Your industry includes the dressing up and styling of carcasses. Why?”

“Some would say,” said Mr. Becker calmly, “that the deceased wish to look good for their funeral, but the simple answer is: what we are prepping here is nothing but an empty hull. The dead have never frightened me, because what animated them… their soul, if you will, is gone. I’m by no means a clergyman, so I cannot tell you what happens exactly, but the light that sparked their life is gone and it is my job as a mortician to prepare a cadaver for the funeral.”

“Yes, yes, I know, but why?” asked Lucifer impatiently. “What use is there? It’s a rotting corpse that will soon be devoured by bacteria and critters, possibly larger scavengers if they’re not buried deep enough. Why are you doing this?”

Mr. Becker looked at Lucifer, frowning a bit, and Dave wondered if part of him knew that he was talking to the Lightbringer. He certainly believed in the light that was a human soul.

“Because,” answered Mr. Becker, “the living need to mourn their dead. While some, like you, don’t need the cadaver for that, others, they need to see the body to truly be able to say goodbye.” He sounded very patient.

“But why dressing them up? Why giving them rosy cheeks? It’s unnatural. Dressing them up like dolls even if they never looked like that while they were still alive.”

“I agree,” said Mr. Becker. “I prefer applying less makeup and only slightly enhance the appearance of the body. If they had a longterm illness, for example, I am trying to improve their looks, so that the mourners may remember them as they were before their physical decline, thus giving them closure. If they were in an accident, I try to restore their looks to not hurt their loved ones further. I always try to bury them in their favorite clothes. My job has little to do with the deceased. It has to do with giving their loved ones closure and the opportunity to fill the gaping hole that their loved ones left behind with seeing them once more as they were.”

Lucifer listened intently and then said, “But the loved ones are crying over a rotting corpse.”

“In a way they do,” confirmed the mortician, “but… is there an object that always makes you think of the same person?”

Lucifer was quiet, but Dave immediately thought of a library filled with books, which the devil treasured so much, he had moved them from LA to DC.

“Yes,” said Lucifer.

“May I ask what it is?” asked the mortician gently.

“Many things, but mostly books. A few recordings. A few paintings. Schemes. Sketchbooks. Gems.” Lucifer looked more and more mournful with every example he gave.

“Let’s stick to the books for my example. Sometimes, when you wish to remember, do you gently touch the spine of the book, pull it from the shelf and open it at a passage that makes you think of them? And regardless of how well you know the passage by heart, you still read the lines, just to make sure they haven’t changed?” he asked gently and knowingly.

Lucifer nodded.

“That’s all I offer. One more memory. As a mortician, it is my task to prepare the cadaver so perfectly that a wife of seventy years can take one look at it and say ‘Oh, it’s you. I remember you. You rest now.‘ One more page in a book. The obituary of a stranger. I may not have known them, but I get to know their loved ones and through them, I see who the body once inhabited.”

“I understand,” said Lucifer slowly. “Thank you for taking the time to explain.”

A pause.

“It’s still weird.”

Mr. Becker laughed at that, “But so is life.”

Lucifer did not disagree.

* * *

Ivan Bakunas was a creep, no doubt about it, but he was not their guy, and Lucifer was weirded out and dangerously furious when the assault on the man’s girlfriend came to light. Interestingly, while he abhored and wanted to punish him for the assault on the living, he had little objection to the necrophilia itself ( _“Oh, I don’t care if you have sex with a rotting corpse, though I have no idea why you would have that desire. There are by far more superior sexdolls out there, but I have a problem with you drugging and assaulting your girlfriend, and honestly, nothing you say will justify that.”_ ). As much of a creep as Bakunas was, he gave them insight into the UnSub’s mind and his mentioning of a ‘genuine article’ was what brought them to Abigail Hansen, the items stolen from her grave and ultimately their UnSub, Roderick Gless. However, they still had to find him and that was where JJ and Usher came in again.

She had contacted him with a letter from Gless, which was a severe breach of protocol and Dave sincerely hoped that Hotch would reprimand her for that.

Apparently, Gless was ‘near water by a rocky shoreline you can see.’

Thankfully, real evidence appeared soon after leading them to an old Western Union station, which was as far away from a rocky shoreline as possible. Also, when push came to shove, JJ backed them up standing right next to Lucifer ignoring Usher’s false confidence in his fake abilities. It mended a few of the cracks that had formed in the foundation of the team, but not entirely.

* * *

Once Brooke was safe and Roderick Gless taken care of, and Usher out of their sight, they returned to Quantico. The general mood was tense. Reid was visibly upset over JJ and Lucifer arguing, Morgan looked unhappy, Emily worried and Hotch was disappointed.

“When we have problems in this team, I expect of each and every single one of you that we leave them in the jet,” said he sharply. “An abduction case leaves no room for personal feuds and we’re all lucky that Gless’ plans included the transformation of Brooke into Abigail, or we would have failed. While abduction cases may always end tragically, let’s make sure that when it happens, we did everything we could to prevent it. Am I making myself clear?”

The whole team agreed, Lucifer did not even try to lighten the mood, and everyone was very solemn.

“Now, Dave, JJ, Lucifer, I expect you three to work things out. If you cannot resolve the issue, we’ll sit down together.” With that, he left them by Reid’s desk; the genius quickly cleared it and Derek, Garcia and Emily immediately coaxed him out promising food.

Once alone, Dave reassured JJ that he understood how she felt, and told her of his disastrous case with a psychic and that he had an aversion to the profession ever since. JJ was grateful for him taking the first step, but she bit her lips nervously, while eyeing Lucifer who did not seem all too forgiving.

“I shouldn’t have blamed you,” said she.

“Oh, force of habit, I’m sure,” said Lucifer. “I’m to blame for everything humanity does wrong, correct?”

“That’s not what this was about,” she protested.

“No, I guess not, just me not caring enough to use the full extent of my power,” scoffed Lucifer.

“I didn’t understand,” said she. “I knew, or assumed, you could find anybody you wanted given what you demonstrated only weeks ago, and I…”

“Whatever you may think, I don’t enjoy watching someone suffer,” said Lucifer quietly. “No, that’s not true. I don’t enjoy watching _innocents_ suffer; I very much enjoy punishing the monsters you hunt. However, as long as I walk this Earth, I am bound to certain rules-“

“I know, you told us that,” said JJ, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“Yet, as soon as things don’t go as you want them to, your reflex was to accuse me of murder by proxy so to speak.”

“Oh, stars, no, Lucifer, that’s not-“ she halted. “Like Rossi said, I was emotional and biased and not ready for this case.”

“And what will happen the next time you get ‘emotional’?” asked Lucifer. “Am I to endure your ire yet again? I haven’t turned the other cheek in a long time, Agent Jareau. Don’t expect me to.”

“And you shouldn’t,” said she, pressing her lips together. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said the things I did. I know your disobedience had dire consequences and I don’t even know why I said that...”

“What you _say_ isn’t as important as what you _think_ ,” clarified Lucifer. “Do you think I should do more? Do a Clark Kent and save every human in trouble regardless of the cost? I’m willing to break the rules for you, this team, your husband and even your spawn, but don’t make me humanity’s backup plan. Your lives are your own, and while I will happily trail along with the BAU in order to identify and punish the worst of the worst, I cannot randomly go around to hunt down and punish dark souls. Dad will probably, _probably_ overlook it when I do it to protect you and the rest of the team, but if I started to hunt some random evildoer without his bidding or cause, I… If he doesn’t stop me beforehand, I would… At first, I would just focus on the murderers and rapists and pedophiles, but what about those who beat up their own spouse… or those tormenting them with words? What about the robber who doesn’t hesitate to stab an innocent bystander… and then it would be their wife or husbands for ‘letting them’ and so on and so forth until Dad either stops me or humanity is stopped. Nobody is without sin and the living soul is far more complex and variable than one that already crossed over. I would lose myself in the hunt. I don’t agree with all of Dad’s rules, but some exist for a reason. I mustn’t interfere with the free will of others unless theirs hampers someone else’s freedom… to a point.”

“I know,” said JJ, her eyes filled with tears. “Next time, I’ll remember. I know you. I know you have your reasons. I’m sorry.”

Lucifer swallowed dryly, “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I know,” she sniffed, but got herself under control rather quickly. Lucifer, uncharacteristically hesitant, took a step forward, which she used to hug him tightly albeit briefly. He wordlessly handed her a tissue once they let go off each other.

“Will has wanted to invite the whole team over for dinner,” said JJ, biting her lips. “Is tomorrow night an option for you?”

“Oh, will he be making Jambalaya?” asked the devil enthusiastically.

“Probably?” JJ asked rather than stated.

“Perfect, I’ll bring the wine,” said Dave immediately.

“I’ll bring desserts,” said Lucifer. “One of my cooks is from New Orleans. His beignets are to die for.”

“Good, I’ll bring Jack,” said Hotch from above, smiling gently at them to show that he was glad that they worked things out.

“Great!” said JJ happily. “Then he can finally meet Henry.”

“Yes, he’s been eagerly awaiting the occasion,” smiled Hotch.

“I’ll call the others to make sure they aren’t making plans,” said Dave and on his way out, he overheard the rest of the conversation.

“I’ll call Will and warn him,” laughed JJ.

“Do that.” Lucifer’s answer held a lot of barely contained glee.

JJ immediately recognized the first signs of danger, “What?”

“Oh nothing, he’ll let you know.”

“ _Lucifer_.”

“Let’s just say that, as spontaneous and layed back as New Orleans is, when it comes to cooking and pastries, they are very French.”

Dave could hear Lucifer grin.

“What do you mean?”

“A good Jambalaya takes 10 hours at the very least… He won’t thank you for setting the date at such short notice. You’ll see a very different side of your husband very soon.”

“We’ll be fine,” said she. “This is important. I’ll help him prepare, but, Lucifer, what do I do to make sure you know I won’t do this to you again?”

Dave turned around to see Lucifer smile, “My dear agent, if you’re willing to endure a day in the kitchen with a proud cook by your side for my sake, I would forgive you almost anything.”

David put the phone to his ear feeling a smile sneak up on him.

They would both be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was with Rossi in this episode.
> 
> References:  
> \- https://www.neworleans.com/restaurants/traditional-new-orleans-foods/jambalaya/


	6. Pleasure is My Business (4.16)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A call-girl has started to kill her clients. The BAU tries to stop her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for the support! I love your comments. They are fuel for my hard-working muse.

They were called to a case in Dallas, Texas.

A high-end prostitute was killing her clientele. Her choice of weapon was rat poison and she was good, hardly leaving them with anything to go on. Their current working hypothesis was that she was killing the men due to a specific sexual act, a shared fetish that she could not handle.

Morgan, Lucifer and Emily were sent to meet with the wife of the second victim, Hoyt Ashford, and Emily was a bit unsure how to approach the issue. After all, Mrs. Ashford’s husband had been murdered while he was with an escort. This could not be easy for her.

It was not.

Yvonne Ashford was absolutely furious, “What did he like? To sum it up with one word: younger.” The woman’s voice shook with anger.

“How much younger?” asked Morgan softly.

“Twenty-five, twenty-six. That’s how old I was when we…”

Emily relaxed. It was not quite fair to Mrs. Ashford, but she was grateful that ‘younger,’ in this case, included ‘still legal.’ Morgan continued his line of questioning, “Please forgive me, but your husband spent a lot of money on this woman. Could there be anything else that he liked besides the ego boost?”

A semi-smile formed on her lips, “Agent, for a certain type of man, the only kind of sex that matters, _is_ the ego boost.”

Morgan looked sympathetic and Emily winced inwardly. There was nothing they could say that would not be highly unprofessional.

“He was a fool, then,” Lucifer chimed in, saying what they could not and Emily was so grateful that he had decided to join them.

She scoffed, “I am way past my prime, Mr.-Morningstar, is it? I am fully aware of that. Unlike my husband, I don’t need the ego boost.”

“Oh, I am not saying this to make you feel better, Mrs. Ashford. You are absolutely stunning. He was an idiot for thinking he could find your level confidence and sophistication in a younger woman. Past your prime!” he scoffed. “You know who you are, what you want and ponder the things you would like to try, a fountain of fun and pleasure in the bedroom. He probably couldn’t handle the heat.”

“Can you?” she asked, her facial expression displaying grief, anger and that small hint of amusement for which Lucifer was responsible.

“I’d love to,” said Lucifer, “but unfortunately, Agent Hotchner made me give my word not to proposition or accept offers from people involved in an active investigation.”

“Pity,” said she. “What about later? After the case is closed?”

Lucifer grinned broadly at that, looking intrigued at the prospect, “Mrs. Ashford, you may find me at my club in DC called Astra.”

“Then I hope you close this case quickly,” said she.

“So do I,” smiled Lucifer.

Emily knew she should remain impartial and not root for Mrs. Ashwood and her obvious need to feel desired and to forget about her cheating husband, but it was impossible not to hope that she would overcome her grief quickly and then find someone who gave her the respect she deserved.

By the time they returned, Hotch had spoken to a problem solver, Ellen Daniels, who had given them a contact to a madam, Lauren Baker.

“Prentiss, I want you, Lucifer and Morgan to talk to that woman. She’s an expert and might be willing to talk to us.”

“True,” said Morgan, “but unless you need Reid at the board, I’d suggest to team up with you and Rossi, while Reid joins Lucifer and Prentiss.”

“Do you have a problem with talking to Ms. Baker?” asked Hotch, for once genuinely surprised.

“Not at all,” said Morgan seriously, “but Reid has the ability to build a quick rapport with women of her caliber, while with me, she will certainly assess whether or not I’m a danger to her girls.”

That was true. Prentiss was in the game for a long time and had long concluded that the BAU held the gentlest, sweetest alpha-male personalities she had ever met. However, they were still dominant and an escort did not always respond well to that. Reid on the other hand was usually instantly filed as ‘safe to be around.’ Lucifer was a wildcard and he was the type to challenge an alpha-male type personality without truly possessing alpha-male attributes himself. He could project authority as easily as he breathed, but he did not actually enjoy it. Rather, he adapted to become whatever type of person you wanted him to be.

“Good idea,” said Hotch. “Reid, why don’t you join Prentiss and Lucifer? Here’s the address.”

An hour later, they were in the suburbs of Dallas with cute, and moderately expensive-looking houses, and Emily briefly wondered if the problem solver had managed to deceive Hotch.

“Actually, there is lot of overlap between real estate and sex work, because properties are a safe way to exchange large amounts of cash,” explained Reid, when a middle-aged lady emerged from the house looking like a real-estate agent.

“Hello, you three!”

Emily wanted to make sure they were at the right place, when Lucifer stepped forward and gallantly kissed the woman’s offered hand.

“Lauren Bates, correct? I’m delighted,” said he smoothly. “The house is utterly gorgeous. I’m a city man myself, but if I ever decide to move to the suburbs this is exactly the place I’d be buying. Would you mind showing us the interior?”

“Oh, absolutely,” said she not missing a beat and Emily – who had grown up around politics suddenly realized that she was in the presence of masters in the art of talking without lying or saying anything of importance. Ms. Bates led them inside.

“You two need to take lessons from him,” said she pointing at Lucifer. “

“I’m sorry,” stuttered Emily. “I just… I want to be clear. You are a madam, right? You arrange dates for escorts?”

“All I arrange are meetings,” was the smooth reply. “What happens between two consenting adults once this meeting is over is something I’m not liable for.” She clapped her hands together and said cheerfully, “Now, who wants a scone?”

“Yes, please,” smiled Lucifer offering his arm, which she took with ease as she led them further inside of the house.

They exchanged names – Agent Prentiss, Dr. Reid, Mr. Morningstar – and to her surprise, the madam reacted to Lucifer’s last name.

“Morningstar. Lucifer Morningstar?” she asked. “I’ve heard of you. Your reputation is remarkable.”

“Oh, thank you, darling,” said Lucifer, touched. “I’ve worked hard for it.”

“Really?” she asked skeptically.

The devil was not always correct in interpreting someone else’s emotions, but he was good at recognizing when people did not react the way he expected.

He tilted his head and decided to make an inquiry, “Which reputation are we talking about?”

“That you are an absolutely non-judgmental party.”

That made Emily smile. It was true. Around Lucifer, unless your actions were reprehensible on a profoundly unethical and harmful level, he did not judge you for who you were, where you came from, what you did and why you did it. He did not care if you were a king or a beggar, man or woman, religious or atheistic, he truly believed that all people were equal before God.

Lucifer, however, did not seem to get what she was saying. Utterly flabbergasted, he said, “In what universe do I have that reputation? I assure you, I am highly judgmental. It was my whole job before I came to Ea-LA.”

Reid bit his lips to suppress a smirk; Emily could not help but smile at his adorably confused expression.

“Really?” repeated Ms. Baker. “Colleagues from LA tell me you protect the girls whom we can’t help. My other colleagues from DC tell me you offer a safe place to anyone who needs it. Isn’t that true?”

“Oh,” breathed Lucifer, a bit disappointed. “That. I first thought you referred to my physical prowess,” he elaborated grinning at her seductively, “then I figured you referred to the connotation of my name. I was unaware the work at my club has earned me a reputation beyond providing a place for people to live out their desires.”

She chuckled, “Sweetheart, the business I’m in? Sex gods, both male and female, are a dime a dozen. It’s mostly just talk. But you know what my business sorely lacks? Decency, generosity, kindness, gallantry. You’re known for that… in two major cities that are not known for being very forgiving to those who live on the outskirts of society. So, in the name of my girls, thank you.” Then she turned to Emily, leaving a rather stunned Lucifer alone. “Tell me what you need to know.”

She helped them a great deal. She told them about the importance of the girls’ client lists and that it was her job to teach her girls how to talk to these men who – much more than the sex itself – needed a therapist that absorbed the worst of their personalities. That, in turn, appalled Lucifer.

“Then hire a therapist and pay them for these specific services. They have enough money for that,” said he. “You don’t unload on your lovers. It’s not fair to them. I got married for that reason.”

“You’re married?” said she, a disbelieving smile forming on her lips.

“Yes,” he answered. “Temporarily. Until she calls it off.”

“Most of these men do not want to talk to their wives about their failings and insecurities. They want to be in control at all times. Hiring a therapist would threaten that image,” she continued. “Look, all I’m saying is that involuntary sex is not the reason this woman has started to kill off her clients.”

Shortly after, she saw them out, but not before eliciting Lucifer’s cell phone number. She had colleagues whose girls were regulars in DC. They needed an outlet every once in a while, which the devil happily provided.

She shook Emily’s hand and then smiled at Reid gently, “You know, I could use a boy like you with my girls. If you’re ever getting tired of working for the FBI, you should consider the real estate business. We pay well.”

Horrified, Reid gaped at her, “As a gigolo?” His eyes were as wide as saucers and the tall, young genius made himself very small in the process.

She laughed out loud, “Goodness, no. As a counterweight to some of the selfish, dominant, toxic men my girls have to deal with every day. You’d be excellent for training them. Mr. Morningstar could join the advanced classes.”

Later that day, they were back at the precinct going through the financial records of Joseph Fiedling, a CFO who was killed in the office and then humiliated post mortem by rolling him into the lobby with lipstick marks across his face.

“Eighteen cars, six houses, three boats,” Reid listed.

“I have 500,000 USD for a Batcave,” added JJ, “and him as a fetish Batman. This is wrong.”

Lucifer smiled at the list, “How quaint.”

Emily nearly choked on her coffee at that, “How many times could you buy him out?”

There was a pause.

“I could buy out the top 1% of this country without selling my most priced possessions, Agent Prentiss,” was the neutral reply. “I’ve had money for as long as humans made it a thing. And I know how to take care of my finances.”

“Certainly,” said Hotch, his focus fixed on the papers in front of him, “but if you were to divorce from Candy, you won’t cut her off, correct?”

“Of course not,” said Lucifer, appalled. “Whatever she wants and needs is hers. There’s no prenup, very much to my accountants’ horror. They asked her to sign some piece of paper that will make sure that, upon divorce, she’ll only get half of what I earned while we were married, but it’s a formality. The moment she asks for the divorce, she’ll get the casino I aquired in Vegas and whatever money she needs.”

He said it so casually as if it did not even occur to him to protect his assets.

Hotch barely looked up from his paper, “While that reminds me to talk to you about financial self-preservation and makes me want to send flowers to your wife, this attitude even further sets you apart from our victims. Fielding does not like paying for his ex-wives, whether children are involved, or not.”

It was something he had in common with the previous victims, and this finding told them how she chose her victims. Consequently, that led them to release the profile to the corporate lawyers, which provided them with crucial information regarding the UnSub’s potential residence. Like that, they found out that she was born with privilege and was well-educated. They received a phone-call from her, and Hotch built a quick, honest rapport. Despite that, she killed another victim while they were on the phone with her, but this time, she showed first signs that she was devolving, because the man she killed was not like the others (widower, faithful until she died, no children).

One of Hotch’s contacts soon led them to Katherine, a former call-girl, who gave them the name: Megan Kane, daughter of Andrew Kane who left his wife for Katherine and who had bought her client list, so that no more ‘lives would be ruined like Katherine ruined hers.’

They contacted Andrew Kane who first claimed to know nothing then appeared to protect his daughter, but then it became clear he only tried to protect himself. Thankfully, Megan was smarter than that and made sure the information would be released after her death. Hotch stayed with her until she died. In a way, she had won, but it was a small victory that she enjoyed only briefly before succumbing to the poison she had ingested in order to avoid prison. Her decision was not easy for Hotch, Emily knew, but he did not say anything until they were all back on the plane.

“There’s no way you’ll show her mercy, is there?” said Hotch quietly.

Lucifer looked out of the window, apparently lost in thought.

“Don’t think I don’t feel compassion for the girl she used to be, Agent Hotchner,” said he after a while. “I do. But she made her own bed. She must lie in it now. She’s no longer an innocent. The men she killed were scum, but they didn’t deserve to die for their failings. They deserved punishment, but not death. Her father’s decisions destroyed her childhood, but she decided to live her life the way she did, and she did not feel a moment’s guilt for the men she killed. Why would I show mercy when she wouldn’t even understand meaning of the word?”

“Her past-“

“Many people go through much bigger hardships and they wouldn’t even dream of hurting others. I’ve noticed that humans have this strange way of sympathizing with vigilantes, because vigilantes punish evildoers, or those that do not inspire pity or sympathy… privileged, rich, selfish jerks that think only of themselves and their own desires for instance. But are their lives truly so despicable that you would bargain for their murderer’s absolution? What about all those that never hurt a soul despite suffering through pain and injustices aplenty? How is that just? How is _she_ any better than those she decided to punish? The sinners she punished have been inhospitable, unkind, callous and stingy. Despicable traits, surely, but not worth the level of punishment she bestowed.”

Hotch nodded, not looking happier – he was a protector after all, and he could not stand the type of person that hid behind money, privilege and a thick, corporate band of bought security – but he accepted Lucifer’s words without challenge as did the rest of the team. It was reassuring to know that beyond human justice, there was someone out there that judged you for what you did, and not based on how you looked, where you came from, and what you believed. Emily admired that about Lucifer. That did not make her feel any less sympathetic with Megan Kane or made her like the victims one bit more. It did remind her, however, that sympathy and compassion were outstanding, essential but also inherently biased human traits, and that the BAU was as prone to it as any other institution.

Thankfully, they had the devil by their side reminding them of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two small comments, entirely CM-related:  
> \- A recurring theme I absolutely love: Reid and escorts. They always flock around him. He’s safe and they want to protect him. It’s cute, adorable, and never fails to make me happy.  
> \- I actually felt a lot of sympathy with this UnSub. I just figured that Lucifer would not.
> 
> Next up: 4.17 Demonology  
> *Muahahahaha* Sorry, that was my muse... she's been looking forward to having Lucifer and a bunch of priests in the same room.


	7. Demonology (4.7)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer is very fond of exorcists. He loves them. Really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the continued support.
> 
> This has become one monster of a chapter...
> 
> WARNING: The episode dealt with abortion. Therefore, so will this chapter. If you don’t want to know my take on Lucifer’s take on abortion, proceed with caution. My own opinion on the matter is nobody’s business.

The human psyche was fascinating.

This was a fact, David knew. You did not become a behavioral analyst failing to appreciate the human capacity for ingenious thoughts and frightening irrationality. If someone had told him less than a year ago that he would get used to having the devil around, he would have laughed at them.

Yet, he had gotten used to it. Frighteningly so.

In the beginning, he had wondered why on Earth Lucifer kept reminding them of his identity; as if there was any chance he could possibly forget!

Eight months after the fact, he knew why, and he knew that Lucifer had known or suspected this would happen (the fascinating thing about Lucifer was that a lot of his actions were based on precendence and pure instinct, and though he was utterly brilliant, his behavioral patterns regarding human interaction were almost childishly naïve sometimes). These days, Lucifer reminded them not because he needed to point out that he was not human, he reminded them because _they_ needed the information to _remember_ he was actually an immortal being older than Earth itself. There was really only one exception to this recent development and that were Monday nights at Astra.

This was when Raphael – the veritable archangel Raphael – came to visit. Apparently, he did not come every Monday, but whenever his duties allowed, he visited Lucifer.

Since the arsonist case back in Woodland, Washington, it was quite obvious that the two brothers had started to reconnect after an inconceivably long time apart. Rossi had heard about this due to an offhand comment that Lucifer made after closing up a case on a Monday afternoon.

_“Perfect timing, my dear agents. Raphael is waiting for me, so if you will excuse me, I must be off.”_

They asked him about that the next time they saw him and he gave them an open invitiation to join them on Mondays whenever they wished. Dave knew that every team member had made note and taken advantage of the invitation, if only to observe celestial sibling dynamics up close, but they also did their best to give Lucifer the privacy needed to reconnect (which was not an easy concession for a bunch of overtly curious and stupidly concerned mortals). Dave still came to Astra every third Monday.

On one hand, he loved the place and the company (Lucifer, but also Frank Lawrence and other members of the staff). On the other hand, well, the Catholic in him wanted to get to know Raphael, the archangel of the healing arts. It was utterly comforting to know that not everything he had believed was bogus.

Raphael was genuinely kind and in many ways the personification of the attributes that Dave had associated with God and then partly found in the devil.

What was interesting from a behavioral point of view was how Lucifer acted around his little brother. On any given day, there was a childish lightness to Lucifer paired with an unparalleled moral code, incredible knowledge and wisdom, especially when it came to justice. However, you easily forgot who he was in a setting that did not demand his serious side. He had a lot of flair, thrived if given positive attention, and at heart, he did not enjoy being feared. He was good at it, especially if he wanted to punish someone – and he thrived in as well – but if given the choice, he preferred a night at Astra with the team present, playing music in front of a crowd that cheered him on and then joining them on the couch in order to talk about their day and positive, amusing subject matters. That was the reason you forgot he was not human, because he assimilated so easily. He was who you needed and wanted him to be.

And that was where Raphael came in.

Around Raphael, Lucifer was the older brother; almost a million Earth years in Hell had not changed old sibling dynamics. With Raphael, he was also playful, but also way more responsible, unusually affectionate and very protective. It was fascinating to watch and it reminded Dave that there was a lot he did not know.

“-You can’t save them all, Raphael. I know it hurts,” said Lucifer gently, “but them dying like flies isn’t your fault or your responsibility. Dad made strong souls… Evolution was not particularly kind to the bodies, however.”

“Yours were.”

“Oh, but I failed to give the dragons proper souls, did I?” Lucifer’s undertone was bitter and full of grief, and Dave already made a note of that for upcoming conversations.

“And that wasn’t your fault either,” was Raphael’s reply. He looked almost smug as if he had Lucifer exactly where he wanted him.

“I am pretty sure Dad would disagree,” replied Lucifer, his smile looking awfully like a grimace.

“You were young.”

“Older than you are now, little one,” scoffed the devil and ruffled his brother’s hair.

“ _Lucifer_!”

The club’s owner giggled and Dave just shook his head, “Boys, behave!”

“Did the mortal just scold us?” said Lucifer looking at his brother.

“It’s all relative, I think. For a human, I’m in the middle-to-late stage of my life. Can you say the same?” challenged David, quite curious to hear the answer to that.

Lucifer scoffed, “Actually no, we can’t. Has Jophiel ever figured it out?”

“Dad told her to stop,” was the solemn reply.

Lucifer sighed, “Of course, he did. We don’t know what stage we’re in, I’m afraid,” he continued making eye-contact with Dave. “There really isn’t any precedence that we know of. We’re both adults, but that’s all we know.”

“Well, then I reserve the right to tell you two to behave,” said Dave smugly. He enjoyed teasing these two, mainly because they were good sports and gave back as good as they got. He wanted to say something in addition, but his phone started to ring.

“Hotch, is everything alright? Do we have a case?”

_“I’m sorry to disturb your evening, Dave, but I think we need you back at Quantico. Emily’s not…well. She lost a friend and suspects foulplay. I promised to let her look into it, but I don’t want her to do this alone. She’s quite distressed.”_

“On my way.”

The two angels followed suit.

“You don’t have to come,” said he, having become familiar with Lucifer’s hearing range and his utter lack of restraint when it came to using it.

“Agent Prentiss is in distress,” was all Lucifer said, as if it explained everything, and to him, it probably did.

On their way to Quantico, Dave announced the arrival of Raphael in order to have the visitor badge ready by the time he entered the buidling. Thankfully, he already knew that the archangel went by Dr. Raphael Sanzio these days as it facilitated the formalities. The two angels had no idea just how much paperwork he just spared them, but he figured that they did not need to know.

They barely stepped out of the elevator for Dave to see that Hotch was right. Emily was not well. She looked… devasted, shocked and about two seconds away from crying. Dave approached her directly.

“If there’s anything I can do for you, anything at all, let me know,” said Dave instead of giving his condolences. If you gave your condolences often enough on the job, you avoided them at all costs around friends and family, because the words often seemed empty. His offer for assistance, however, came from the heart.

Emily nodded barely holding it together. Lucifer said nothing. He seemed a bit helpless.

Raphael, on the other hand, proved once again that angels did not separate their personal from their professional lives, because that concept did not exist for them. They lived and breathed their domains, and Raphael’s was healing. Apparently, that included comforting the families of patients.

He did not say anything. The angel simply spread his arms. A quiet, desperate sound escaped Prentiss’ throat and she threw herself into Raphael’s embrace; the angel quietly told her something in French. Lucifer hovered over them protectively. Watching her cry her heart out was painful to watch, but they were good tears meant to cleanse her aching heart.

“Well done, Dave,” muttered Hotch.

Dave nodded in response, not surprised that the Unit Chief had correctly read his intent. They had talked about that before. Angels had very specific effects on humans, and these effects were tightly connected to their domains. Raphael’s aura made you trust him, made you want to tell him what ailed you, as you might only dare tell a therapist and/or a physician. Lucifer, on the other hand, elicited contrary emotions. If he was being the Punisher, you wanted to run for the hills, even if you were not the focus of his ire. At the same time, he was desire in its purest form; he was alluring and dangerous. However, when he was playing music or when he displayed his caring side – his Light, so to speak – the air he displayed made you feel safe and protected. It was not the same ‘safe’ as Raphael’s presence. Around Raphael, you knew your were being taken care of, and around Lucifer, you knew nothing and nobody could ever harm you, because he would step in between.

“Everything okay?” asked Hotch, his focus on Lucifer who was frowning.

“I’m not sure,” said Lucifer quietly. “Her Light is dimmed. She’s been touched by Darkness.”

He looked exceedingly worried about that.

Raphael put a hand on his brother’s arm after letting go off Prentiss, “No need to worry.”

“No need to worry?” repeated Lucifer, appalled.

“There are many similarities between grief and depression,” said Raphael quietly. “You needn’t worry. She’ll be fine.”

“How can you say that? Darkness hovers around her like a cloud,” he countered sharply.

“Shock and grief can do that to a human body, but she’s not in danger,” explained Raphael. “I can sense her sadness, but she won’t fall.”

“How do you know?” asked Lucifer, his eyes wide with fear and worry. Dave suddenly realized that this was probably the first time that a close friend of his was harmed in spirit, and it terrified him. “Humans are so fragile.”

“Yet their minds and souls are strong,” repeated Raphael firmly. “You just acknowledged that.”

“I don’t want to-“ Lucifer cut himself off sharply. “I already had to. I can’t do it again, not with Agent Prentiss.”

“You can’t what?” asked Emily as the fog of shock started to lift and she noticed her friend’s distress.

“When the Light dims, it can be permanent and I can’t help, and then my demons tell me that…” Eyes wide, he stared at Emily, and cleared his throat abruptly. “Apologies. Dr. Linda would tell me that I’m self-projecting, and that the situations were different.”

Ironically, a distraught devil was what Emily needed to shake off her grief; she put her hand on Lucifer’s forearm.

“Back before you permanently moved to Earth, you had a friend suffering from depression. You tried to help, but they killed themselves,” she concluded, her eyes wide.

Lucifer looked away, but he replied to her conclusions, “He had trouble accepting himself. I tried, but… Society was less… He couldn’t handle it. When Reym found him, he told me… I didn’t visit Earth again for two hundred years.”

“I’ll be fine, Lucifer,” reassured him Emily softly. “I’m just…sad. Matthew was a wonderful, terribly messed up guy, and I deeply cared for him. He-I would never harm myself in that manner, not only because it cheapens the sacrifices he made for me, but… I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Lucifer took a step closer to her and held her hands gently in his, “Thank you.”

“Let’s get to the bottom of this,” said Hotch. “We have to rule out foulplay, but please, remember that we weren’t invited on this case. We need to approach this carefully.”

With that, they had Emily present the case to the whole team that arrived one after another.

Next to Matthew Benton whose cause of death was a heart attack (and although he had a history of substance abuse, this was still rather unusual for a man his age with no family of heart disease), there was a Thomas Valentine who died of dehydration, and Dave was unsure how these two deaths were connected in any way. The only physical connection between the two bodies were superficial ligature marks that made Emily even more suspicious, though Derek called for caution. It was obvious that he wanted to support Emily, but that he did not want to give her false hope.

“So, there was no obvious evidence for foul-play.”

“We should check out the houses,” said Emily. “Just in case.”

“Agreed. Dave, Prentiss, Lucifer, you visit the Mr. Valentine’s home. JJ and I will check the house of Matthew Benton. Reid, Morgan, you stay here. I don’t want too many agents roaming about.” He looked out of the room to see Raphael talking to Garcia and Kevin Lynch, the latter of whom looked dumbstruck indicating that their technical analyst had just gone through honest introductions. “Lucifer, will Raphael be fine here with Garcia?”

“Raphael is fine anywhere,” grinned Lucifer. “He makes friends easily.”

On his way out, he said something in a language Dave would not even dare to further identify. The healer replied effortlessly.

One hour later, they knocked on the door of the victim’s house.

“Mrs. Valentine,” said Dave, taking the lead for the introductions. “We’re from the FBI. Our deepest condolences for your loss. We’re investigating a series of similar deaths and would like to rule out foulplay. Would it be possible for us to take a look at the scene?”

She led them inside, not looking particularly happy, but that could be chalked up to her grief. She led them into their shared bedroom where the body had been recovered.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lucifer hissed, his gaze overseeing the bedroom with an expression of disgust. “Exorcism? Really?”

Dave did not question Lucifer’s exclamation. He was the devil. Therefore, it was not a surprise that he would be able to deduce an exorcism from the faint scent of incense, scuff marks from the bed and burnt candles. It definitely would not have been Dave’s first (or tenth) guess, but he knew Lucifer was right. He knew for sure when Mrs. Valentine stared at Lucifer with wide eyes.

“You don’t understand. My husband was hearing voices. He was cursing God.”

“The first is called mental illness, possibly involving some sort of paranoia and hallunications,” growled Lucifer. “That has nothing to do with Heaven or Hell. The second, now that just tells me he was a smart guy.”

Her expression was resolute, “My husband died in Spain. He never returned from his trip.”

Lucifer’s eyes were two seconds away from gleaming hellishly red, “I don’t know what happpened to him in Spain, but I guarantee you that an exorcism was the last thing he needed, you stupid fool.”

“L-Mr. Morningstar!” exclaimed Rossi, utterly surprised to hear Lucifer so angry and emotional over this.

“Morningstar?” she repeated. “Get out! Get out of my house, Belial! Foul fiend, Prince of Darkness, King of the Bottomless Pit! You won’t touch me, Eden’s Snake. I am a proud follower of Jesus Christ, our savior, and as he resisted temptation, I will resist your powers.” With that, she crossed herself.

Lucifer scoffed in disgust, “Good luck with that, lady.”

“Let’s leave,” said Prentiss, her face pale, and she looked ill. Lucifer noticed and followed her instantly, but not without looking Mrs. Valentine straight in the eyes, “Your husband was ill in spirit. Now he’s dead. That’s your responsibility. Not mine.”

He left. Once they were by the car, Lucifer called Hotch.

 _“Lucifer, is everything alright?”_ David heard him on speakerphone.

The devil rarely called them, especially during cases, David suddenly noticed. Hotch had apparently taken note of that and knew that this situation was quite unusual.

“In Mr. Benton’s room, was there the smell of sage, cuffmarks of the bed on the wooden floor and the stink of religious zeal penetrating through every pore of the house?” he asked.

 _“I can’t tell you for sure about that last bit, but yes,”_ said Hotch.

“They both died during an exorcism. Your _UnSub,_ ” Lucifer still could not say the word without stumbling over the term, “is a priest. Or he pretends to be one.”

_“How do you know?”_

“Because no amount of sage is enough to remove the stain of religious hypocrisy.”

_“I’m pretty sure that’s not what the incense was used for.”_

“Well, it certainly dispels the devil, most demons and angels. And animals. It stinks, is all I’m saying.”

_“How’s Emily?”_

“I’m good, Hotch,” said Emily shakily, still pale. “Exorcism would explain their deaths. The ceremony stresses the body to the point of breaking. While deaths are not common outcomes of exorcisms, they do happen. Probably more often than we think.”

_“Let’s discuss this back at Quantico.”_

On their way back, Emily told them how Matthew’s family did not like her; they were extremely religious and believed Emily to be a bad influence.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Raphael noticed something with his big brother. He asked a question and Lucifer replied in what David thought was Arabic. Raphael rose from his seat.

“This isn’t an official investigation, is it?” he asked Hotch quietly.

“That’s correct.”

“Good. I will join you,” said the healer resolutely.

“I can’t allow that.”

“You don’t want to have Lucifer against an exorcist. He has no patience for them,” said Raphael, sounding like he did not accept ‘no’ for an answer. “If this is official, make me a temporary medical consultant. I know everything there is to know about possible outcomes of this ceremony.” Bitterly, he made a sound eerily similar to Lucifer when he voiced his disgust. “I’ve been called upon them more than once.”

Hotch met the archangel’s dark eyes before he nodded his approval.

“I didn’t know,” said Raphael, addressing Lucifer.

“No Litany of the Saints then,” concluded Lucifer. “Good, that means he’s doing it alone.”

“The family was probably present,” objected Dave. “Mrs. Valentine knew for sure what was going on.”

“Yes, but they weren’t involved outside of holding their loved ones, possibly tricking them into compliance,” said Lucifer.

“Whoa,” said Morgan, “everyone, please, I… Exorcism? Lucifer, are you in danger?”

“Why on Earth would I be in danger?” was the rather baffled reply.

“Last time I checked, exorcism is used to expel a spirit that took hold off a body. A year ago, I would have called it bogus, but now I don’t know, and I don’t know what this could do to you.”

_“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te...cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare...Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis...Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei; contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine...quem inferi tremunt...Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.”_

Dave felt his skin crawl hearing Latin pass Lucifer’s lips with an ease that reminded them he was not human.

“I could be buried in crosses, drink holy water and sing this on repeat and it still would have no effect,” continued Lucifer, neither looking faced nor worried. “The entire world could chant it together with the help of all of my siblings, and it wouldn’t even touch me. As much as it pains me to admit, I am here but for the grace of God, Agent Morgan, and he’s the only one capable of making me do anything. All this ceremony does is make me angry. It’s useless regarding its original purpose, unnecessarily cruel and has been used as a tool to torture those who were alrady hurting.”

“You said back in LA that demons don’t possess people,” said Reid. It was a statement, but there was an unspoken question to which Lucifer responded.

“Demons cannot possess the living. The only way for them to leave Hell is either if I physically carry them to Earth as I did Maze, or if they bring their spirits to Earth themselves and then take over the body of a recently deceased member of the reigning species. Of course, they could also take over an older carcass, but they can only reanimate the body if the soul left it mere seconds ago. Older carcasses fall apart. It’s ugly and messy. Either way, I banned possession a long time ago. The last time it happened nearly gave poor Mary Magdalene a bloody heart attack. The whole thing was a mess and I was not in the mood to run interference. Vapula did it only my behalf, because she gets angry when I’m hurting. For the possesion, she took an unusual route, however and slipped past me when I returned from Golgotha. That’s why it took her three Earth days to reach the top. To break through the barrier, she still had to leave behind her body, though.”

Dave heard a strangled gasp emit from his own throat, “A demon resurrected the body of Jesus.”

Even being friends with the devil for nearly a year made that statement painful and too blasphemic to ponder further.

“He was favored by Dad, Agent Rossi,” said Lucifer. “He was still human. Put a human on the cross without divine interference and they die. Anyway, Christianity is not all wrong. My siblings used the opportunity to meddle with humanity, on Dad’s orders, of course.”

Raphael lowered his head, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

Lucifer’s shoulders slumped, “I’m glad you weren’t. It was always easier being angry with Amenadiel when you weren’t involved,” he chuckled lowly, “though it would have been absolutely hilarious if ‘Raphael’ got credit for all of that.”

Raphael’s lips twitched, “He doesn’t like it when his work isn’t acknowledged.”

“Like a spoiled first grader upset for not getting that extra-star,” muttered Lucifer.

“Back to exorcism,” said Morgan firmly. “So, demons can possess the bodies of humans, but they don’t because you banned it. Therefore, exorcisms are exactly what I always thought they were: tools to force those whose minds do not exactly align with what is considered acceptable in society into compliance.”

“Unfortunately, you are correct,” said Raphael. “However, while demon possessions have not occurred in almost two millennia, consider that spirit possessions do actually occur. They have always been rare and have decreased even further in the last 400 years. Think of the Occam’s razor principle. Only in this case, consider that you are on a ranch in Texas and you hear the clip-clop of hooves. Theoretically, it could be a zebra, but Hearst Castle is over 1000 miles away.”

“Elaborate metaphor, baby brother, how come?” laughed Lucifer, relaxing for the first time since they arrived at Quantico knowing that Emily was not well.

“I talk to a lot of doctors and I teach,” was the reply.

“Bottom line is,” said Hotch, “that spirits can possess living humans, though it has nothing to do with you. Let’s assume there is no ‘spirit’ given how rarely this appears to occur, but Reid, please remember to put that on the list.”

“What list?” asked Raphael.

“The list they created in their attempt to profile me, Dad, and to better understand the universe.” That was a scarily accurate deduction of what the list entailed.

“Just on question,” said Morgan,”that is relevant to the case. Would an exorcism work on a possessing entity?”

“It’s very effective at annoying someone out of a body they inhabit, yes,” replied Lucifer. “A priest or shaman who performs an exorcism puts an enormous, unhealthy stress on the possessed body. Spirits usually like to take vessels that don’t get stressed, or scared, or have a Light to speak of.”

“You’re saying that psychopaths are better vessels than any other human.”

“Yes,” confirmed Lucifer, “unless, of course, the person allows the possession. Then it doesn’t really matter how prone you are to it.”

“Okay, now that’s just scary. Can we please just focus on the situation at hand?” said Garcia, her eyes wide and terrified. “The exorcist who killed two people and now that I said that, I’d rather talk about humans who willingly allow a spirit to possess them, because this reminds me of the Exorcism of Emily Rose and that was just a scary flick.”

“Really?” frowned Lucifer. “It’s so hilariously inaccurate.”

“Why don’t you walk us through an exorcism?” exhaled David.

“Nobody has been stupid enough to perform an exorcism in my presence, Agent Rossi,” said Lucifer. “They usually run away screaming after I make it abundantly clear that whatever they do has no effect on me.”

For the briefest of moments, Lucifer’s eyes turned red. It did not faze the team. They knew Lucifer’s bouts of temper. He never harmed anyone, usually went out of his way to blow off steam away from them; they also knew him well enough to know that he believed his face to be punishment and the redness of his eyes to be abhorrent. This much self-hatred could only be met with acceptance. Of all of them, Morgan was the one who dealt with it best. He usually sought contact to Lucifer whenever it happened, mostly putting his hand on the devil’s neck, occasionally putting their foreheads together, and Lucifer deflated quickly in response. Reid, by his very nature, was twitchy, but he had trained himself to ignore the sudden appearance of a predator. Both Emily and JJ were accepting and quite relaxed these days, though they usually kept their distance, similar to Hotch and Dave. Garcia was unused to it and still twitched, though ironically, she usually remained close to Morgan, which brought her close to Lucifer.

“Oh my, that’s… I’m sorry for the disturbance, and I’m outta here.”

There was Kevin Lynch, who looked very close to panicking. He was voluntarily around Lucifer, though Dave knew for a fact he made sure that at least one member of the BAU was present at all times. Considering the devil reveal he had gone through, it was not a surprise that his reaction to seeing Lucifer’s inhuman form involved stuttering and the urge to flee. What surprised him on the other hand was Raphael’s reaction. For the first time since Dave had known him, he looked… shocked to the point of frightened. As a bloodhound for sensing people that feared him, Lucifer noticed without even really looking at him.

"As long as you don't call it a gift, I don't care if you flinch when you see me." He laughed bitterly, "you should have heard me the first time I dared to look into a mirror after the Fall. My screams were heard in every corner of Hell. Surprised it didn't reach Heaven, really."

Raphael looked away.

“Oh.” David had not known how heartbreaking resignation was until he met Lucifer. “Mom or Dad?”

“Michael.”

The disadvantage of talking to beings that lived together for several billion years was that their communication was filled with metaphors, idioms and abbreviations that left you guessing (that was if they were speaking English in the first place. Dave knew they only did it for the benefit of their human friends). Dave could only imagine that Lucifer asked who had kept Raphael from charging down to Hell the moment he heard that scream, but he could not be sure.

“Exorcism, Raphael, what do you know?” asked Hotch, apparently unwilling to touch upon the matter of Lucifer’s Fall today.

“Agent Hotchner, I think this is a matter you better discuss with a mortal priest. I am healer. Exorcisms aren’t my domain. I have treated the aftermath to know what it does to body and soul of one accused of being possessed. All I can do is bring science and medicine to these places,” he continued. “Make it clear that their approach only harms the patient further, but humans are stubborn and reject ideas that go against their faith.”

David was fully aware of the irony that exorcisms were rejected by both the archangel of healing and the devil, and that both appeared to be big supporters of the Enlightenment movement: Lucifer because rationality was the first step toward true free will, Raphael because it improved medical care.

“I’ve been called upon, though, for the Litany of The Saints can be part of an exorcism ritual.”

“Litany of The Saints?” asked JJ.

“The Litany of The Saints is a formal prayer of the Catholic Church and is used in ordination, Forty Hours’, processions and other occasions. It’s usually recited or sung by the priest and the responses are voiced by all.” Then Reid started to recite the litany from memory, but sounding like he was reading from a court transcript.”

Priest: Lord, have mercy.  
All: Lord, have mercy.   
Priest: Christ, have mercy.  
All: Christ, have mercy.   
Priest: Lord, have mercy.  
All: Lord, have mercy.   
Priest: Christ, hear us.  
All: Christ, graciously hear us.   
Priest: God, the Father in heaven.  
All: Have mercy on us.   
Priest: God, the Son, Redeemer of the world.  
All: Have mercy on us.   
Priest: God, the Holy Spirit.  
All: Have mercy on us.   
Priest: Holy Trinity, one God.  
All: Have mercy on us-“

“Kid-“ said Morgan, but Reid did not hear the soft plead.

“Then each vocation is followed by ‘pray for us’ from the priest, then voiced by all.

Holy Mary,  
Holy Mother of God,  
Holy Virgin of virgins,  
St. Michael,  
St. Gabriel,  
St. Raphael,  
All holy angels and archangels,  
All holy orders of blessed spirits,  
St. John the Baptist,  
St. Joseph,  
All holy patriarchs and prophets,  
St. Peter,  
St. Paul,  
St. Andrew-“

“Reid!” said Morgan. “We got it. All the saints are being invoked. This whole ritual must take a lot of time and energy. It’s taxing.”

“You are correct, Agent Morgan. I usually treat both patient and _majnun_ -I meant priest or shaman or whoever is arrogant enough to believe they could go against an entity capable of taking over a body.”

“Brother,” grinned Lucifer, pretending to be appalled (and failing to be convincing at it). “I didn’t know you had it in you!” Emily also smiled; it was weak, but she was definitely amused by whatever word the archangel had just used to describe exorcising priests.

Raphael turned to his brother, “I’ve been involved in more exorcisms than you.”

“Don’t be so sure about that, Raphael,” said Lucifer quietly. “It doesn’t matter why they were performed: exorcisms are a show of faith… in both God and the devil. You’re only invoked when they chant the Litany of the Saints; I am always being cursed.”

Shocked, Morgan addressed Lucifer worriedly, repeating his earlier question, “Does it harm you?”

“It annoys me,” was the cool reply before he continued. “It has no impact on my energy, but random praise to my old domain like canine moon chants and whale songs don’t reach me as well when humans wish to dispel me. While on Earth, exorcisms have no meaning to me. In Hell… let’s just say that I’m used to being hated and thought of negatively, but exorcisms are a very particular annoyance that I despise. To illustrate: imagine you are in DC. You crossed the street to go to work, a menial, boring, distasteful job that you despise and that causes a lot of suffering – call center operator, for instance – and you are at work, doing your job, because it’s your duty, but every other bloody minute, car drivers are coming up to your desk, telling you to get off the street. That’s what an exorcism is while I’m in Hell. Worse, they can kill people… just like a car owner, so my metaphor was better than I thought.” He looked remarkbly happy about that last bit.

“Annoying, got it,” said Morgan. “So, we’ve got an Unsub, most likely a priest, using exorcism to kill people. What’s the victimology?”

For all that Emily had to be distressed, she was the first to jump into her role as a profiler, “We know that both families are very religious and that our victims both had mental issues.”

“Okay, so there was the possibilities that they called in a priest, but why now, and are we dealing with one or two UnSubs?” asked David.

“Garcia,” asked Hotch, “have you found any connection between the two victims?”

“I think so, sir,” said Garcia, clearly uncomfortably standing in front of them without her trusty tech handy. “In fact, both were part of an online support group for people who felt betrayed by their faith and they took a trip to Spain, but I’m still missing out on the details.”

“Good, you do that,” said Hotch. “I’m talking to DC police to see if they’re willing to let us take over the case… or make them see that there is a case. Dave, I can see you thinking.”

David snorted, unsurprised to have been caught by their Unit Chief, “I’m just thinking that we should involve the local clergy. Let me talk to Father Jimmy Davison. He’s an old friend, very spiritual and though I haven’t been to his church in a while-“ he had, but Jimmy had been absent and instead, he had talked to Dr. Canaan, “-but I know he’d be open to our requests.”

“Good idea. In fact, you should have him talk to other priests, see if we can talk to them. I’m not expecting the UnSub to be there, but they might know the guy.”

“Yes, let’s meet your Father Davison,” said Lucifer, his smile predatory.

“No, Lucifer,” said Hotch firmly.

“But, Agent Hotchner!” Lucifer protested, his voice just on the right side of whining to make their ever-serious Unit Chief smile.

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” said Hotch. “I want you in that room with the priests.”

Lucifer’s reaction was very much akin to that of a little boy on Christmas morning realizing that he got that bike he had asked for. He pushed himself off the desk he had used as a seat, clapped his hands together and smiled widely, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. That I count as a favor. What do you want in return?”

Hotch sighed, “Your full focus, don’t scare them to death and help us find the UnSub.”

“Oh, but that’s not a favor. That’s just my duty,” sulked Lucifer. “Come on, there must be something.”

A beat, then, “Jack’s been really interested in the stars lately.”

“There’s a telescope on the roof of my tower,” said Lucifer promptly. “You can bring your spawn. I’ll show him whatever he wants to see.”

“Thank you,” said Hotch softly. “He also hasn’t heard you play in a while.”

“He’s permanently invited to gospel night, you know that. Just bring him. Frank’s good at playing with these larval humans.”

“He’d like you to play.”

Lucifer sighed, “Fine. It’s a deal. For that, I get to pester the priests, though. Just a little. I want to make it abundantly clear that exorcisms are a form of torture that doesn’t help their lambs.”

“I’m counting on that,” said Hotch.

* * *

It was a good thing he talked to Jimmy alone.

Until meeting Lucifer, he had not realized just how big of a role the devil played in the Roman Catholic Church. Now, talking to Jimmy about evil and how it entered humans, he became painfully aware of it.

He did not want Lucifer in that room, not because he cared about the priests, but because he did not want Lucifer to be villified further than he already was. Jimmy had asked him two questions, and Dave, in an attempt not to antagonize his old friend, had only answered the first.

_“Do you believe that evil exists?”_

_“I’ve seen it.”_

_“If children are born innocent, at what point does evil enter them?”_

Why blame the devil for it, though?

David realized that he had also blamed the devil for such things, but now that he had met him, he wondered why on Earth humanity thought it could blame their own failings on some higher power?

He had barely kept himself from snapping at his old friend, when Jimmy had spoken out a warning against their investigation.

_“You invite evil into your lives. You open yourself up into a vulnerable position.”_

Vulnerable position to what? As far as David had seen, evil did not come from spiritual possession and devilish influences; it came from within.

That did not mean he was about to invite Thomas Yates over for dinner – that would be inviting evil into his life – but he had no qualms about inviting Lucifer who had a firmer and superior moral code over most humans.

“Lucifer,” he heard Raphael say, “There is no need to talk to them, remember? They apprehended the wayward priest.”

“Wait,” said David. “We have the UnSub in custody?”

“Yes,” replied Lucifer. “He’s at Quantico, with the rest of the team ready to jump in if Agent Prentiss needs help. He’s boring, delusional and utterly set on his quest to exorcise the ‘evil spirits’ that took his lover away. Typical quest for vengeance of a man maddened by grief hidden behind religious zeal. As I said, boring. Now, to the priests, are they already inside?”

“Yes, they are,” said Dave at the same time as he blocked Lucifer from entering. “I was gone for three hours. What happened?”

They told him.

Garcia had found out that the two victims as well as a third that apparently turned up a few hours ago (and that they were informed of after Hotch managed to get DCPD to work with the BAU) were all part of the same support group and that they had taken a trip to Spain, specifically a famous pilgrim destination; a church near Santiago de Compostela. However, services were canceled after the death of a priest, Father Raùl del Toro. Official COD was a heart attack, but there were talks of sarin gas and murder. All three had returned from that trip severely disturbed with their psychological conditions in overdrive. Furthermore, while David had talked to Jimmy, Raphael, Lucifer and Garcia managed to locate a priest who was admitted to a hospital due to fatigue, which Raphael had predicted from his experience in dealing with the aftermath of exorcisms. They had gone to talk and/or arrest Father Paul Silvano who had taken one look at Raphael and went to his knees asking him for forgiveness.

_“Have you killed these three men, Father Silvano?” Raphael asked calmly._

_“While slaying the monster inside them, they died, St. Raphael,” was the whispered reply, “but my actions killed them and I deserve whatever judgment you bestow on me.”_

_“Judgment isn’t his domain, padre,” Lucifer had said from a corner in the room. “That honor is mine.”_

“How did he react?” asked David, well-aware that faithful clergymen tended to recognize Lucifer.

“He saw another angel,” said Lucifer, rolling his eyes, “and that’s why I don’t want you in the room,” he said to Raphael. “In their infinite wisdom, they cannot imagine angels working with the devil, so when they see you, they assume I’m just another angel.”

“He was unable to look at you, and he was terrified,” replied Raphael.

“I am celestial justice, baby brother. He killed three people. Of course he was terrified of some Angel of Justice. Raphael, he called me St. Michael!”

He sounded so appalled that Dave had to snort.

“This isn’t funny, Agent Rossi. Anyway, he admitted to his failings, but told us that the ‘demon’ was still out there, and that the demon had taken Father Raùl from him.”

“Lovers?” asked David.

“Possibly, though both seemed devout Catholics,” answered Raphael. “He called him his ‘friend,’ but had they chosen another life, chances are, they would have been lovers. Two things existed for Father Silvano: God and Father Raùl. His friend’s death destroyed the man.”

“He’ll wind up in Hell regardless. His guilt is too profound,” said Lucifer coldly, before he amended, “but I won’t do more to him than he does to himself. He murdered Agent Prentiss’ friend and two others, but the deaths were not intended.”

“So,” concluded Dave. “Case closed. No need to pursue this any further.”

“Not exactly,” said Lucifer. “I think we’re dealing with a zebra.”

“What?” Dave wondered if the two angels could hear his heart pound against his chest.

“The way he said it,” clarified Raphael. “It was a very accurate description of a spirit taking over a body. You see, a lot of old churches were built on burial grounds and former places of worship. It’s not that you’re closer God when you’re in a church, but the barriers are thinner there, worn down for thousands of years, not by humans but by the beings that dwelled there.”

“Who?”

“Based on the location, I’d say the Celtic Gods, though I cannot exclude Roman-Greek or Norse Gods,” continued Lucifer.

“Wait, one of the pilgrims is being possessed by a Celtic God?” repeated David.

“No, but most likely what you would call _daimon_ these days, a non-corporal dark faerie that slipped through the cracks when the pilgrim killed the priest,” said Lucifer.

“What is it going to do?” breathed David.

“Nothing. It inhabits its newfound shell like a hermit crab… until it’s sure nobody is coming after it. Then it’s hard to say. It could level the city or live its life happily in some forest. In any case, we need to send it back. When the Celtic gods left, they had to take their pets with them.”

“Pets? Are they dangerous to humans?”

“They are predators,” answered Raphael. “And humans can be prey to them.”

“If some of these creatures are still around,” said Dave slowly,”does this mean that human monster and demon hunters like Van Helsing-."

"Have a death wish and only survive if there is divine intervention."

"-exist... Never mind." He had to breathe. Breathing was important. “Okay, so we’re now hunting down a human who went to Spain with Benton, Valentine and – Kavanaugh, was it? –and hasn’t been visited by Father Silvano?”

“Yes, and we have the answer to that as well: John Cooley, another friend of Agent Prentiss. He told her about the case. He’s not home, and now we need to find him. The priests are a pretty good starting point.”

“Why?”

“Because _daimons_ can’t help but cause mischief and while it’s more or less dormant inside of its vessel, its need for chaos will tempt its carrier. According to Agent Prentiss, John Cooley hates anything to do with religion. What better way to seed chaos and discredit the church than by tempting them into exorcisms and possible kills of innocents?”

“All of that under the _daimon_ ’s influence?”

“No, his will is free as ever. All it does is lower Mr. Cooley’s inhibitions,” replied Raphael. “Chances are, he’s already tried inciting other priests. It worked once. Why not again?”

“Why involve Emily then?”

“To throw off suspicion? To make sure these deaths would be flagged as murders and not natural deaths, so that exorcisms would make the front page? I wouldn’t know, Agent Rossi,” answered Lucifer. “Ah, Agent Prentiss, Agent Hotchner. How’s Father Silvano?”

“He hasn’t stopped praying and he recinded his status of immunity. He’ll be tried for murder, but there’s a good chance his sentence will be reduced. Thank you, Raphael, I think your presence really changed the outcome of all that. Johnny hasn’t replied to my texts,” said she coming up to them, looking utterly distraught.

“Oh, Agent Prentiss,” said Lucifer softly, “his choices are his own. We have no say over our friends’ actions.”

“He could be responsible for Matthew’s death!” she hissed. “How could he? After all that…” She stopped abruptly.

“What did he do?” asked Lucifer sharply. “What has Matthew done for you or for Mr. Cooley?”

“I never wanted to tell you,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

“I’m not asking you to,” was the patient, soft reply.

She did anyway.

When she was a teenager, she had lived in Italy because her mother was stationed there. Having traveled a lot, she had trouble fitting in, and was willing to do anything to make friends.

“You got pregnant,” realized Dave, suddenly wondering what the celestial position on abortion was. “Was Cooley the father?”

Prentiss nodded sharply avoiding the men’s and angels’ eyes, “Matthew stayed with me, all the way. When I went to Father Gamino for advice and when he told me what would happen if I had an abortion. He stayed with me in the hospital and when I returned to church. He told me to hold my head up high, and he challenged Father Gamino, the church and thus his whole life to be there for me.” She looked from Raphael to Lucifer, her eyes wide with fear. “I don’t want to-“

Raphael took her in his arms before she could finish, “Hush, Agent Prentiss. There is no reason for you to be scared.”

“But I-“

“It is your body,” said Raphael quietly. “Yours and not some priest’s who believes to understand Dad’s laws.” He let go off her. Emily’s eyes were fixed on a very quiet Lucifer.

“I don’t care about God, but I’m not sure I want to know his son’s opinion on the matter.”

Lucifer stepped closer and enveloped her in a brotherly hug, cupping the back of her head, while his other arm wrapped around her lower back. He kissed the top of her head.

“Contrary to human beliefs, very few abortions harm a soul and are thus punishable by celestial laws. After all, the cells of an embryo form long before the soul is developed and for punishment, all that matters is the harm you do to someone’s soul. Before the soul is formed, an embryo is nothing but a tumor growing in the womb.“

That reminded Dave of Lucifer’s change of terminology regarding JJ’s baby, changing his terminology from ‘parasite’ to ‘it’ to ‘him/the Light inside of you/your little spawn’ and David realized that Lucifer had not just been saying that to lighten the mood, but because this was how he saw the world. As long as there was not a soul or Light akin to a soul, it held no meaning to Lucifer.

“On another day,” he continued, “you should talk to Raphael about embryo transfer. He helped developing it to benefit those otherwise unable to conceive their own offspring.” He kissed her forehead again and continued, “Now, let’s talk to some priests.”

With that, he slipped past Dave and threw the doors open with flair.

“Well, well, well.”

Could he sound anymore like the devil?

“Look, what we have here? Dad’s most trustful followers.” One of the priests held out his cross. “He’s younger than me, padre, I’m afraid you can wave around my adoptive brother’s dead body all you want, it won’t ban me from entering this place. Oh,” he continued, “I forgot. The name’s Lucifer Morningstar.”

And there went his alias.

“I’m not here for you. I don’t care what you preach. Just remember that hatred leads to the Dark Side… Sorry, wrong movie,” he smiled and it was not a pretty sight. “Just remember the deadly sins: gluttony, lust, greed, pride, sorrow, wrath, vanity and sloth. Lust is my favorite and I indulge in it and promote it as loudly as I can. And pride is the sin of angels, and that, my dear little soldiers of God, includes me. Everything else is yours. Thinking that you can do anything to harm me speaks of pride and vanity, actually attempting it by torturing some poor soul that never even saw Hell… that demands a whole lot of wrath. And cruelty. If you don’t believe me, please remember that there is an entire section for priests who fell from grace, often due to lust and gluttony, granted – Dromos loves giving these priests their just desserts, pun intended – but I’ve had more than my fair share of those among you who believed they could torture mental illness out of an innocent. And frankly, I don’t want you. I don’t want any of you in Hell. Oh, for Dad’s sake, stop chanting!” he barked at the priest to Jimmy’s left who appeared to be trying to exorcise Lucifer.

_I adjure you, profligate dragon, in the name of the spotless Lamb, who has trodden down the asp and the basilisk, and overcome the lion and the dragon, to depart from this man, to depart from the Church of God. Tremble and flee, as we call on the name of the Lord, before whom the denizens of hell cower, to whom the heavenly Virtues and Powers and Dominations are subject, whom the Cherubim and Seraphim praise with unending cries as they sing: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth-“_

“Unpacking that alone is going to take me a ridiculous amount of time that I don’t have. There are no cherubin and seraphim; there are only angels and archangels, none of whom are going to stop me from ripping you a new one. Well, except for Raphael, if he decides to stop grinning for a minute or so. I am not a dragon, in fact, I made them, and what is it with everyone calling me a snake? Seriously? And for all that is holy, stop using the goat metaphor. Raphael, stop giggling!”

Raphael was watching the whole scene unfold with a glee that removed all doubt regarding the quesiton whether the two were related. He stepped forward and put a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder.

“He’s right. Exorcisms are messy and all it will do, is damn you. Stop doing it. It won’t rescind evil and only ever hurts those who don’t deserve it. Should you be unlucky enough to meet a true spirit, you wouldn’t live to tell the tale. We are after one of them. Now tell us, have any of you seen a John Cooley?”

To Dave’s great surprise, one of them had, and he could give them a location. On their way out, Jimmy held him back.

“I didn’t know you already let evil in.” His eyes were wide and frightened.

“No, Jimmy, I didn’t. Sticking close to these two will prevent me from doing exactly that,” was his soft reply.

David ignored his old friend crossing himself on his behalf and followed the two angels, Hotch and Emily outside.

* * *

John Cooley was still in the church talking to a nun from the nearby covent. She seemed frightened and distressed.

“Mr. Cooley,” said Hotch, his voice echoing inside of the church. Cooley startled and the nun used the moment to run away, right into Morgan’s arms who led her outside. “FBI. Please, turn around slowly-“

“You,” said Lucifer, walking past Hotch with sure, confident steps. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

Cooley opened his mouth and said something in a language that David did not know.

Lucifer closed in faster than the eye could see and brought his ring to Cooley’s temple. A gray mist with laced with bright and dark streaks left the man’s body and were sucked into the ring. Lucifer stared at Cooley for about two seconds, then he scoffed, “Ah, I see. Can’t blame you really. The lover-abandoning scum of a human being makes for a really good shell, but still… Rules are rules. Agent Hotchner, he’s all yours. This one,” he showed his ring, “is mine. It’s time for it to return home.”

He left with Raphael, but not before staring down Cooley with disgust, “I look forward to seeing you again, Mr. Cooley. I know who you are, and this one,” he wiggled his ring finger, “will tell me everything else.”

He saw them later that night, at Astra, where the team lifted their glass in memory of Matthew Benton. They would later ask the devil and his brother what they had done to the _daimon_ , but not tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> \- Santiago de Compostela is a city, not a cathedral. So, I changed it up a bit to make it more accurate.  
> \- Why did I make Cooley a psychopath? There was something to the character that disturbed me  
> \- Why did I add spirit possession? In the show, he tells Morgan "Why do you protect him? They didn't protect you when you were a little boy." That gave me the creeps.
> 
> REF:  
> \- https://www.verywellmind.com/grief-and-depression-1067237  
> \- https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=683  
> \- https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/exkvnk/latin-is-still-the-best-language-for-fighting-satan-fox  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_of_Jesus#Physical_or_spiritual_resurrection  
> \- http://hearstcastle.org/history-behind-hearst-castle/the-castle/the-zoo/  
> \- https://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/faeries.html


	8. Omnivore (4.18)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George Foyet - The Boston Reaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, after a long-ass chapter, I am uploading a short post-ep tag.
> 
> The ones who know the episode will know why Lucifer couldn't join the case. The ones who don't will just have to bear with me :)

George Foyet.

Aaron buried his face in his hands.

Like so many times before, Dave had been right. The voice in his head had not been his conscience. It had been his ego.

His arrogance.

The belief they could catch a killer who had haunted his nightmares for a decade.

The Boston Reaper.

21 victims, 20 dead.

Then he had disappeared, dormant after making a deal with the lead detective thereby digging the cop’s grave. An ultimate display of power.

_If you stop hunting me, I will stop hunting them._

_For as long as we both shall live._

_Till death do us part_

_If you agree to my terms, take out a personal ad in the Michigan Post_

Detective Tom Shaunessy had taken the deal, and sent the BAU away. The case had dwelled on Aaron’s mind though, caused him to work on it by himself.

He had gone against his own principles and built up a profile in solitude.

Falling into the same trap as Gideon.

If only he had taken Lucifer with them. The devil would have instantly noticed what Foyet was, would have arrested him and would have scared him into obedience in the process. Aaron had no doubt that the devil could have gotten into Foyet’s head, could have made him suffer.

Aaron had thought they had it all under control, but…

Human arrogance indeed.

He dreaded telling Lucifer about this. The case had almost killed Morgan who had survived only because Foyet allowed it.

Foyet.

Elevent years ago, he had been the Reaper’s ninth victim.

The only one to survive.

The severity of his injuries (stabbing himself over sixty times) had automatically caused them to rule him out; thus, he had been able to insert himself into the middle of the first investigation. Worse, he had managed to do it again a decade later.

“I heard you had a difficult case.”

Aaron looked up. Lucifer stood by the doorframe, his hand lifted as if about to knock, though he never actually did that. It was difficult to read his facial expression, Aaron realized, but that could be because his mind was elsewhere.

David had schooled Aaron about his ego, had been his rock when he got lost in the case and the Reaper’s disturbed mind: a narcissistic serial killer who needed to be known and feared, who wanted the police to know how powerless they were. He had planned his escape from the local prison for eleven years.

“That’s putting it mildly,” said Aaron.

Lucifer entered and came to a stop in front of Aaron’s desk.

“Agent Morgan’s brush with death has made him unwilling to flirt with me, the whole team is very maudlin, and frankly, I don’t appreciate it,” said Lucifer. Again, Aaron could not read him at all.

He took a shuddering breath, “I should have taken you with us.”

“I appreciated your understanding when I said I was having a session with Dr. Linda back in LA,” said Lucifer.

“I should have asked you to come to Boston as soon as your session was over.”

“But you didn’t.”

“It could have saved lives,” said Aaron. “You don’t understand. I knew how monstrous he was; what he is capable of. I should’ve never attempted to do this with only…”

“Only your highly capable profilers? Your absolutely marvelous team of excellent human beings? You keep telling me that your job is dangerous and that it might kill you at any moment even when I am around and that I shouldn’t feel responsible for that. Why do you?”

“I’m the leader of this team,” was Aaron’s desperate reply.

“And I’m the devil,” countered Lucifer straightening up to his full height. “If bad things can happen around me, why on Earth would you feel bad when they happen around you?”

“Why aren’t you angry with me? Morgan was hurt.”

“Oh, I am angry at the man who hurt him, but I’m not angry with you,” was the casual reply. “Do you know why pride is an angel’s sin?”

“Given the circumstances, I would say it is because you believe you can control the situation even though that’s not always possible.”

“Very perceptive of you,” smiled Lucifer. “Precisely. I am here on Earth and I can shape reality as I please, correct? No human could ever harm me, and my siblings aren’t fast enough. I would rule the world long before they can interfere. I’d be a good tyrant. I would make sure evil is punished, make certain humans behave, would keep as many people from going to Hell as possible and I would stop those who cannot be saved.”

“You don’t have to explain to me how you stand on free will, Lucifer. I know.”

“I know you do, so let me tell you something you don’t know: in LA, I went out with Delilah. I got _distracted_ and she left me for a moment to talk to a young starlet that was once being hailed as the next Deliah, but her fame was starting to drop, and Deliah decided to comfort her… you know, just some friendly advice between professionals caught up in LA’s need for the rise and fall of stars. What we didn’t know was that the starlet became the focus of a man’s greed and wanted to have her kill in order to increase her sales. He paid another man to kill her. And he did. With Delilah only inches away from-“ he did not finish the sentence. “That’s why I didn’t come to Boston even after my session was over and why it didn’t even occur to me to follow you. My friend was frightened and upset, and I figured that I would be more useful in LA than in Boston.”

For the first time since this case started, Aaron felt true sympathy for someone else’s pain, “I didn’t know. Is she okay? Does she need protection?”

“No, as a favor to me, Lieutenant Monroe put half of the homicide department on the case and they found the culprit in record time. Detective Espinoza made the arrest as far as I know. I didn’t talk to them. I figured he doesn’t need the reminder of my true identity and this is not the point. My point is: I was present when the crime occurred, but by the time I saw what was going on, the only possibility for me to protect Delilah would have been to stop time.”

“And that’s Amenadiel’s power. Not yours.”

“Precisely,” said Lucifer. “I live outside of time, Agent Hotchner. Dad ordered Amendiel to start it right after I was born, but I am unaffected by it. Raphael is not. Amenadiel has no power over any of us, but he can affect their surroundings. He can only do that to me when I let it happen. Yet, I have no influence over time itself. He does. Should I blame him for not being there to stop it? Or should I blame myself for not being on better terms with him? Or should I blame Dad for making my siblings choose between loyalty to him and me? Or again myself for not simply doing whatever Dad said without questioning any of it?”

“You can’t be blamed for this,” argued Aaron.

“But I can shape reality to my own liking, so why shouldn’t I be blamed for everything that goes wrong?” asked Lucifer. “After all, the whole world is already doing that. Why do you disagree?”

“Because it was the UnSub’s choice to hire a killer. It was the killer’s fault to shoot. You had no say in any of that.”

“And neither did you. He offered you an impossible, crappy deal. Do you truly believe I have never been faced with choices like that? ‘ _Satan, I will kill her if you don’t give me what I desire. Satan, I offer you this life. Give me a sign.’_ That isn’t a choice or a deal. It’s a dilemma. You can’t win. A deal is a give and take. You never take more than you give, you never give more than you can take. I helped with Delilah’s career and in return, she allowed herself to be helped. If she had been fine with all of it, with the outcome of my initial help, I would have asked for something else, but that was the situation I was presented with. A deal is a deal. It has two sides: Never cause real harm, take only what they’re willing to offer and make sure they know if they can bear giving it. Never take it unless you benefit from it.”

“He would have stopped killing if I had taken the deal.”

“And then what? You die and he’s still there, so he can make the impossible deal with someone else? He dies and the families of his victims wouldn’t have any closure.”

“If he dies, you’d punish him,” said Aaron. For the first time since knowing Lucifer’s true identity, he questioned what kind of difference the BAU actually made. At the end, the culprits would be punished, whether they caught them or not. If taking the deal would have stopped Foyet from killing…

“Of course, I will!” exclaimed Lucifer. “That doesn’t mean he deserves a moment’s triumph and peace while he’s still alive. For as long as he’s out there, he needs to look over his shoulder wondering if you’re right behind him. He’s taken lives and he must suffer for it. In life and in death.”

Aaron finally felt like he could breathe again, “You’re right. Of course.”

Then he asked, “We know his identity. His face. Can you find him?”

“I already took a peak when I heard about Agent Morgan,” said Lucifer quietly. “His trail is already cold. I would have to use means for detection that aren’t…“

“It’s okay. We’ll find him,” said Aaron suddenly finding himself reassuring Lucifer. For the first time, he actually believed it. “His actions aren’t our responsibility.”

He would have to remember that. Ultimately, his need to control the situation was what had probably earned him Foyet’s attention. He needed to trust his team.

What Foyet did not know was that they had the devil on their side. The BAU had Foyet; he just did not know it yet.


	9. House on Fire (4.19)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moody devil, an FBI agent and an arsonist walk into a bar...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thanks for the comments on the last chapter and sorry for not responding. This week was kind of hellish (pun intended). 
> 
> Here's the new installment, and I think - like Demonology - the presence of the devil would change the events, so that's what I did...
> 
> A/N: I didn’t realize that the “House on Fire” Quote I used for Like Ashes In The Wind was used in this episode…

“We have an arsonist in the small-town of Royal, Indiana,” said JJ, turning off the TV that had just shown news footage reporting about the incident. “In the last two weeks, 31 people died in two fires, first in a community center and last night in a movie theatre.”

“Then why am I here?” asked Lucifer, a bit moodily. “I definitely remember you making the decision that I tend to overact around those who have no qualms about burning their victims alive, and should therefore stay away from these cases.”

“You flung Ralph Finnegan twenty feet across the room on top of a basketball hoop, nearly letting him burn alive notwithstanding,” said Morgan. “You can’t blame us for being concerned.”

“My point stands,” was the amused reply, though Dave had the distinct feeling that he was being snippier than usual.

“We know these cases are stressful for you,” said Aaron calmly, obviously having picked up on the devil’s testy comment. “And normally, you are absolutely correct. We would ask you to stay in DC, but not because we don’t trust you. I believe these cases hurt you because of what you went through yourself.”

“I hear a ‘but’ and not the delicious version,” said Lucifer, his whole body was unusually closed up; even the innuendo fell short.

“While I don’t expect Foyet to stalk us, at least not while he’s planning his next move, I am finding myself unwilling to go on a case without you,” was the very honest reply, demonstrating just how much the Reaper case had shaken Hotch.

Lucifer pursed his lips, as if he had a sour taste in his mouth, but he nodded.

Shortly after the presentation, everyone prepared to board the jet, and Dave used the moment to go into Hotch’s office.

“Keep an eye on him,” said Aaron quietly, gathering the files. “He’s not eager and that worries me.”

“I will, but how are you holding up?”

“Fine actually,” was the honest reply. The shadow of a smile appeared on his lips. “I had friends putting my head on straight. Have you noticed anything about Morgan? His near-death at Foyet’s hands and the knowledge he only lived because Foyet allowed it weighed heavily on him.”

“Don’t worry about him. He also had friends putting some sense into him.”

_Dave heard raised voices in the hall._

_“Morgan!” said Emily sharply. “Will you set aside your ego for a minute and just be happy that you’re still here?”_

_“You don’t get it, Emily,” was the testy, harsh reply. “He had me.”_

_“Foyet thrives on these power games. It destroyed the lead detective on the case. Don’t let him get to you.”_

_“You could have died,” he heard Garcia say, her voice full of fear, but there were also the first tendrils of anger and frustration, though it seemed like Morgan could not hear it._

_“My life was in his hands. Why didn’t he-?”_

_“Oh, how terrible!” Lucifer did not often sneer at the team, but when he did, it was very effective. “Imagine what it’s like to have an entity that could end your existence whenever they wish hovering over you as they hold the threads of life with a razorsharp knife-“_

_“This isn’t the time for your daddy issues,” snapped Morgan causing the entire team to stare at him, aghast. “It’s not the same.”_

_Lucifer scoffed, “You’re right. The one who spared you is but a human man without any outstanding capabilities barring the willingness and absolute drive to commit evil. The one I fear could end the entire universe if he has another temper tantrum.”_

_“I’m not afraid of him,” breathed Morgan._

_“Then you’re being foolish,” was the merciless response. “He almost killed you and his reason to leave you alive was to torture you. Effectively, if I may say so. You haven’t slept properly, you’ve been snippy with everyone, especially with Ms. Garcia, Agent Prentiss and Dr. Reid, because you’re hurting and you lash out at those closest to you. I am afraid of Dad. And I’m angry with him. And so very, very frustrated. Sometimes, I even want to say that I hate him, but I can’t, because… My point is that you can be afraid of someone and feel something else as well. Fear isn’t a clearly defined emotion nor is it rational. He’s still out there. Being afraid of him is normal, but don’t be angry, try not to lash out at the people who are trying to ease your pain. If you need to beat the frustration out of someone, let it be me.”_

Apparently, a sparring match with the devil had been enough to calm Morgan down. It was rare to see the well-trained and physically fit agent limp about with sore muscles, and Reid and Garcia mercilessly teased him for it as an obvious payback for Morgan’s less than stellar mood in the aftermath of the Reaper case.

“How come I didn’t hear about that?” asked Hotch, concerned and also disappointed for having missed the chance to tease their action-prone colleague.

“You’ve been kind of lost in your head lately,” said David gently.

“That’s precisely why I want Lucifer on the case. It’s not fair to him, but he so beautifully puts things into perspective. Foyet managed to gnaw at the integrity of this team due to mind games, but in the end, he’s human, and Lucifer’s presence will be a constant reminder that there is more to this world than us.”

This was a good plan.

Lucifer was moody, though. It was not obvious, but he spent a lot of time on his phone, each time looking more frustrated than before, leading Reid to ask whether everything was alright.

“Don’t worry about me, Dr. Reid,” said Lucifer with a smile that seemed a bit forced. “The case has priority.”

And it did. Their presence was more than welcome. Police Chief Brad Carlson obviously felt terrible for not calling them in sooner as he initially thought that the fire and not the murders were the goal. Part of the team canvassed the theatre including Lucifer who strolled through the crime scene with his usual ease, but his expression was dark.

“This fire was born from wrath,” said Lucifer. “Haven’t felt that much hatred and malice in a long time.” He looked almost ill, “There’s lust, and not the good kind.”

“You can tell all that from a fire?” asked Dave, surprised. “With the Finnegan case, you didn’t-“

“Mr. Finnegan’s fires were malicious in their own way. He falsly believed to be a disciple of fire so to speak. Every fire set to kill people contains malice, but here, there’s lust and wrath, and I don’t know where the lust comes from.”

“I don’t doubt you, Lucifer,” said Dave once he made sure they were out of hearing range of any firefighter and police officer. “If you say so, I am sure that’s the case. I’m just saying that, while very observant on crime scenes, you are not exactly the one to depict the UnSub’s emotions from a scene; that’s usually our thing.”

“True, but usually, they don’t use fire. You may as well bare your soul to me when you use a fire for your sins,” was the offhand reply.

“Remind me never to light a fire with you in the room,” said Dave. “Lots of UnSubs get sexual release from their crimes-“

“No, this is not that. I’ve seen that. This is…’ _Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife’_ level of lust,” corrected Lucifer.

“But you don’t care about fidelity. You care about consent and that can be an issue for the partner that was cheated on, but-“ he was not sure how to continue with this line of questioning.

“Correct on both accounts. All I’m saying is that there is a disturbing, forbidden haze to the lust and it makes me want to leave this place,” said Lucifer. “His feelings strong: wrath, long-boiling hatred and lust.”

“Can you find him?” he asked the question, though he expected the answer already.

“No, but if I see him, I’ll know. The fire’s fresh and his soul is soaked in ash, marred flesh and death. There is no way I would miss that.”

Well, at least, they could exclude all the present firefighters. They explained to them how he started a slow burning fire at the exits, locked the exits and then started a fast-burning fire to lead them into a trap. It was premeditated, malicious and dangerously controlled. So far, Lucifer’s impression held up to the evidence, and Dave did not doubt that this would continue to be the case. By the time he relayed their findings to Hotch, they were told about the upcoming service in the church.

Lucifer predictably balked, “I’ll peak inside. If he isn’t there, I’ll leave.”

That was exactly what he did. He looked, one brief focused glance across the room then he turned and left.

“Go with him,” requested Aaron. “We’ll stay. Despite him not being here now, the UnSub might still show up.”

Dave did as he was told walking up to the devil calmly and said, “Want some company?”

“Why not?” was the curt reply whilst stepping into the car. “Why do humans kill, Agent Rossi?”

Oh. This would not be an easy drive.

“Don’t get me wrong, I do kill living things… or rather, I buy and eat meat. However, it would never occur to me to kill the reigning species. Never. You punish the ones that commit a punishable act, and sometimes, Dad would give me an order to bestow celestial judgment on whoever pissed him off sufficiently, but killing any of them for the sake of ending their lives for personal reasons wouldn’t even cross my mind. And I have been furious with people, and humanity as a whole.”

Dave smiled at that, “That’s because you are a very good person. Your morals have no room for hypocrisy, which is from where most malicious acts stem originally.”

Lucifer scoffed, but did not reply. Dave decided to give him some time to think about that and decided to focus on the case, “So, you can analyze the aftermath of a fire or when it burns, but not before.”

“Yes, why?”

“Because I think you can help us find him long before we identify him. He’s going to strike again today, we all know that, but the profile says he’ll be at the church, because he shouldn’t be able to stay away from all the grief he caused, yet you knew he wasn’t actually there, which means that something else is more important than observing the mourners. What could that be?”

“Another fire,” breathed Lucifer, his eyes wide and horrified. “Agent Rossi, I cannot snuff-“

“Snuff out fires around mortals, as Morgan explained to me, but you can move it away from the bystanders.”

“If I’m right there and I know where the souls are. They’re all Light, and when I’m in the same room, I’m quite confident now that I’ll be able to differentiate fire from soul, but Earth isn’t Hell. I have to be there or I might accidentally-“

“Forget about that and let’s focus on what you can do. Raphael told us about your affinity to open locked doors,” began David. “He’s locked the last victims inside the movie theatre. He must have done that before he started the fire. Can you read malicious intent from a lock?”

Lucifer stared at him before he whispered, “Agent Rossi, you’re brilliant.”

“I have my moments. Can you?”

“Not normally,” said Lucifer. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you how many locks are in this street alone, but his unique brand of maliciousness soaked with three separate sins combined with using fire may have left enough of a trace for me to-“ He closed his eyes. “Murderous intent isn’t easy to identify. It’s darker and filled with greed and power, but here, it’s the lust that drives him. His desire is profound,” muttered Lucifer, his eyes were closed, and he looked like he was meditating, though he continued to speak. “Desire, fire and activitely blocking the Light by placing a lock… most innocents are away and grieve at one place. This may be just-There! Turn left.”

Without hesitation, he did. Not one minute later, they were standing in front of a wall.

“Really?”

“Do I look like a GPS to you?” sniped Lucifer. “It’s on the other side.”

“And how do we get there? Fly?”

“I could throw you,” suggested Lucifer, now snippy. “We have to hurry. There isn’t much time.”

“Can’t you knock down the wall?”

“Sure, I’ll let you explain that to the Police Chief and Agent Hotchner.” A pause. “Jump on my back. I’ll climb.”

“What?”

“I’m good at it. Lives are in danger. Unless you want me to go there all by myself.”

“Fine, fine,” said Dave quickly, positioning himself behind Lucifer and mentally hearing all the innuendos from the insufferable angel, even though the devil did not say a word.

He was grinning, though. David just knew it.

“If you mock me about this…”

“Never, Agent Rossi,” was the not-at-all convincing reply. David wrapped himself around Lucifer’s neck and was a simple observer as the devil deftly climbed up a steep wall. Once on top, Dave could barely take a breath before Lucifer jumped.

“Holy crap!” he exclaimed, his heart beating in his chest. “A little warning next time!”

Lucifer did not listen. He crossed the street and walked straight toward a bar not too far away. There was a chain already in place. Lucifer grabbed it and it immediately gave way before he quickly entered the bar, Dave not far behind him.

“FBI,” said David, embarassingly out of breath as he followed the devil’s brisk pace. “Everybody please leave the- _everybody down_!“

There was a crash and something was flung through the window. There was a spark and a roar. For one brief second, David thought that this was it. This was how his story ended. His vision was all fiery red and yellow, but then it stopped. He forced himself to open his eyes to see what was going on.

Lucifer was holding the Molotov cocktail in his right hand, the spark meant to light up the place in his left. David realized that the fiery roar had not come from a spreading fire but from a very, very irate devil.

“My turn,” growled Lucifer. The room heated up considerably, the windows burst and the civilians, all obediently on the ground, buried their faces in their arms, which turned out to be unnecessary considering that the pressure came from the inside and the glass scattered in the yard. A nauseating scream followed that made David shudder.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Lucifer mockingly as he climbed through the window, the motion looking both elegant and casual. “I didn’t see you there. Now, why were you trying to kill the innocents here?”

Very carefully following Lucifer, making sure not to cut himself on glass shards, David stepped through and said, “My name is SSA David Rossi from the FBI. You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you can’t afford an attorny, one will be provided for you.” The man’s face was cut with multiple tiny pieces of glass and he was still covering his eyes, which was probably a good thing because Lucifer’s eyes looked like burning charcoal. To pacify the irate devil, David gently patted his shoulder.

“Well done. Now, can you get rid of that?” he pointed at the spark still burning in Lucifer’s open palm. “Then use that incredible charm of yours to calm down the civilians?”

To his great surprise, it worked. Lucifer closed his hand and the fire snuffed out, his eyes were still burning, though, “I just have one _burning_ question before I do that. Who is it that you’re coveting? What do you desire?”

“Tina,” gasped the man, unable to keep himself from spilling his desires out to Lucifer. “She’s all I want.”

“Hm,” scoffed Lucifer. “Does she want you?”

“Mr. Morningstar,” warned Dave, wishing that other members of the team were nearby. It was kind of nerve-wracking to be the only thing standing between an UnSub and the full weight of divine wrath. “Please, check on the civilians.”

“Not yet,” was the stiff reply. “Fire is a tool to you, isn’t it? It’s painful, it’s horrific and it is torturing its victims to death. But you don’t really have an affinity for it, a need for it, do you? Oh!” he exclaimed, smiling in a truly petrifying way. “I know. You probably saw yourself as a master over fire. Master over their life. You know what? Your life’s mine now and I decided that you’ll become a present. He’s been such a good boy lately.” With that, he stepped forward and drew an ‘S’ on the UnSub’s forehead. For the briefest of seconds, Dave observed how a snake appeared and seemed to slither inside of the UnSub’s skull. It was a truly disconcerting sight.

“What did you do?” screamed the UnSub after Lucifer’s retreating back. “Did he do something to me?”

“I have honestly no idea. Imagine what it’s like… To live your life never knowing that somebody may harm you.”

“They had it coming,” was the merciless reply. “They kept us apart. They deserve it.”

“Really? There were children in there. Teenagers. Did they deserve it?”

“The whole town deserves to burn.”

Dave stared at the man whose identity he was still unclear about. He called Hotch, an ambulance and the fire department, which all appeared within five to ten minutes. In the organized chaos that followed, he lost sight of Lucifer. By the time he found him, he was flirting with one of the EMTs and what appeared like her fiancé.

All good, then.

Lucifer tended to flirt with civilians on the job only if he deemed it safe that they would not take him up on it. The angel noticed that Dave was watching him and came over.

“Yes, Agent Rossi?”

“I never thought I’d say this, but whatever you did, it’s not good enough,” said Dave. “He’s cruel and doesn’t regret a thing.”

Before Lucier could answer, a commotion broke out when the UnSub saw his Tina who appeared to be the cute EMT with her fiancé.

Tina Wheeler.

The UnSub was her brother, Tommy Wheeler.

They had lost their parents in a fire at the age of five and came to live in Royal with their grandparents. Tina Wheeler had become Tommy’s whole world and that distorted his love map immensly. They had been very close and that closeness had left to rumours in town, which had left to a boy being beaten within an inch of his life by adults before he was removed from the town. The whole thing was a tragedy.

“Seriously?” asked Lucifer, appalled. “He’s lusting after his sister?”

“You’ve got to understand-” began Reid.

“No, I refuse to accept this love map hypothesis, because here’s the thing. Ms. Wheeler was just as affected by the death of her parents. I see her being close to her brother, but not incestuous. She’s doing it right. He almost killed her betrothed out of jealousy and possessive need to keep her to himself. Forget what happened to him and think of him as a stranger. That would fall right within your specialty, Agent Morgan, wouldn’t it? Crimes of obsession?”

“He’s right,” said Morgan. “The boy didn’t deserve what happened to him, but the man he became… that’s on him. Who knows what he would have done to her if she refused him?”

“Thank you.” He shuddered. “How could he?”

Lucifer’s visceral reaction was almost amusing. He had known that Lucifer was disturbed at the thought of incest, but he had been unaware just how much he despised it. Interestingly, this seemed to be very personal, and not directly related to celestial justice, because he made no attempt to punish Tommy Wheeler further.

Once they were being wholeheartedly thanked by Police Chief Carlson who seemed to carry a lot of guilt over how Tommy Wheeler turned out, though it was obvious that he had not actively participated in the hazing, they were back in the jet.

“You were kind of lenient with the guy for all that he pushed a lot of your buttons,” said Emily while the plane took off.

“Lenient how?” asked Lucifer, confused.

“He’s not a babbling mess of nerves. He’s not been asking for six blankets and a heater. He still wants the town to burn,” counted down Dr. Reid.

“Well, sure,” said Lucifer shrugging his shoulders. “His hatred runs so deep, I’d be surprised if that ever went away.”

“So, what did you do?” asked Dave. “I know you did something.”

“His soul now belongs to Loki. What he does with it, well, that’s up to him. He knows I don’t condone killing of the living, but if he wants to torture him while Mr. Wheeler is still alive, then so be it.”

For a moment, there was silence.

“Wow,” muttered Reid, “that’s mildly terrifying. He’s insane, isn’t he? Loki. He’s insane. He must be. Considering everything that happened to him… did all of that happen to him?”

“Oh yes, it did and yes, he is,” said Lucifer. “He’s also exceedingly creative. Tommy Wheeler will get the punishment he deserves.”

“By the way, Rossi?” said Morgan, a mischievous grin forming on his lips. “I’ve heard you’re a pretty good spider monkey.”

Feeling his cheeks heaten in response, he glared at Lucifer, “You promised you wouldn’t mock me for it.”

“I said _I’_ d never mock you for it. I didn’t say I wouldn’t tell the team.”

Dave shook his head, but with the mood so light, light for the first time since they heard about the Boston Reaper’s return, he said, “Dinner at my place. I’ll cook.”

* * *

The devil is in the detail.

Apparently, that included punctuality. With a bottle of outstanding Italian wine in his hand, Lucifer appeared behind him peaking over his right shoulder.

“Spaghetti carbonara! _Buonissimo, Agente Rossi_ ,” he drawled.

“ _Santa Madre di Dio_!” exclaimed David, almost letting his pan fall. “Don’t do that. The door was locked. I know it was.”

“It still is, actually,” said Lucifer, relaxed and kind of happy to have nearly given him a heart attack.

“Knock next time, okay?” sighed David. “I’d like to have an intact heart by the time I turn seventy. Just enter, but please announce yourself.”

“If that’s what you desire,” purred Lucifer and Dave truly hated to bring up a more serious topic.

“I noticed that you’ve been a lot on your phone lately, and less than pleased whenever you look at it. I’m assuming your efforts to find Foyet have turned up fruitless,” said the agent.

“Thanks for not asking me that in front of the others,” was the gentle reply. “Especially Agents Morgan and Hotchner. They’re irrational when it comes to Foyet.”

“True. Understandable, but true,” admitted Dave. “No luck then?”

“Maze is an excellent bounty hunter… of those committing active sins. Most cannot stay away from it and they’re easy to find. However, Foyet has all but disappeared. Not just from a human’s way of detection, but also a demon’s. She’s out there looking for him. The moment he surfaces and if it’s only for petty theft, she’ll know.”

“Unlikely,” said David. “His level of self-control is high. Power is what he lives for and taking someone else’s life is the ultimate power game. He spent a decade planning on what to do if he ever kills again. His next step will be a big one.”

“I know,” sighed Lucifer. “We’ll have him, but the price…”

“It is kind of Maze to be out and about,” interrupted David unwilling to let him dwell on the threat Foyet posed to his very mortal friends.

“I’m paying her and she hasn’t found him.”

And there was the source of Lucifer’s anger.

“Have you thanked her for her efforts?” asked Dave gently. “As an agent who spent the majority of his adult life trying to find serial killers, I know the worth of gratitude.”

“Why thank her?” asked Lucifer, genuinely confused. “She hasn’t found him.”

David had observed Lucifer with his mortal staff. He always acknowledged them, appreciated their work and was generally considered an excellent boss. David had not seen him with Maze, but he had the sudden impression that – when it came to people working for him – there was Maze and then there was everybody else. He obviously held her in high esteem, and now he was disappointed.

“You should thank her,” said David. “Don’t take her for granted.”

“I’d never!” Genuinely appalled, Lucifer stared at him. “She’s Maze. She knows how important she is to me.”

“Have you told her lately?” challenged Dave. “You’ve been moody and I bet that you’ve been curt with her as well. If nothing else, thank her in the name of the team for her efforts. They’re appreciated.”

For a long moment, the devil held his gaze before excusing himself and dialing a number. “Maze, darling, how are you?” A pause. “No, Amendiel hasn’t dragged me down to Hell and I’m not asking for you to rescue me. Why would you think that Verizon has reception down there? You know what, never mind. Anyway, I am calling you because-“

David chuckled as he watched Lucifer walk out of hearing range.

Now that the third member of this team was back to normal, he was looking forward to dinner with friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief statement:  
> Verizon is the second most common cell phone carrier in DC (according to Google) and merely a placeholder for any phone company out there. Take your pick.


	10. Conflicted (4.20)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer had read everything there was to read about dissociative identity disorder, or DID, as it was called. He had stumbled over it while researching everything there was to know about schizophrenia. After all, lay people often confused to the two disorders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Melethril hides in a corner mumbling to herself*  
> Writing Reid is HARD! So very HARD! Add two archangels to the mix and I just hope this wasn't too crappy. I try to avoid Reid where I can, not because I don't love the genius - I adore him - but I enjoy writing him from another character's POV... He's just hard to write.
> 
> *deep breath*
> 
> Anyway, thanks for the support for the last two chapter. I figured you'd enjoy a new chapter more than me replying to your wonderful reviews. I hope to reply soon, and then I will focus on the next episode.

“Thank you for coming,” said Spencer quietly.

He had read everything there was to read about dissociative identity disorder, or DID, as it was called. He had stumbled over it while researching everything there was to know about schizophrenia. After all, lay people often confused to the two disorders. He had intensified his research after his ordeal with Tobias Hankel, the man who had… It did not matter. It was over. He had no wish to think about Tobias while he was within the real Raphael’s range. After all, the angel was a healer and while Spencer trusted doctors, a tiny part of him would always call for caution, the part that sounded like his mother when she wavered between paranoia and being the wonderful mother he loved with all his heart. Considering Lucifer’s miraculous effect on her mental health, and the devil visiting her whenever he was in Las Vegas to visit Candy, both Mom and Spencer were regularly discussing the possibility of bringing her to a mental health facility in DC. However, whenever that topic came up, it eventually led to a discussion about the inevitable flight from Las Vegas to DC and that was when she always decided not to do it. She was pathologically terrfied of flying (also called aviophobia affecting 6.5% of the population, while a quarter were uncomfortable with flying, which was a direct indicator for how many people had a strong need for control). He was currently thinking about asking Emily and Morgan to help him move her via road trip, but he was hesitant (he trusted them, he did, but this was his _mother_ , and for this type of trip, the car was the most dangerous option [motorcycles were by far the worst way to travel {212.57 deaths per billion passanger mile}, but since this was not a viable option, cars came in second regarding fatalities {7.28 deaths per billion mile}]. These considerations did not even include the fact that his mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and there was no data on how she would react to a roadtrip by car). The issue improved a little as he considered the fact that 77% of all traffic accidents occurred within 15 miles of one’s home, but still, they would travel 2407 miles if they took the I-70 W. If they spent 35 hours on the road, the probability of an actual car accident occurring would increase considerably. Of course, he could ask Lucifer to come along, but the devil was a frighteningly fast driver, and Spencer did not wish to scare his mother. Statistically, it would also be safer to involve another woman, like Candy, though he was unwilling to entrust his mother’s life to a stranger with no exceptional credentials regarding the handling of vehicles. He did not wish to bother JJ, Will or Hotch, because they had children. Rossi was still a viable candidate, however. He might be a better option than Morgan who was a good driver as long as they needed his skills to chase after UnSubs, but he was not good on the nerves.

“Of course, Dr. Reid,” said Raphael gently. “Could you please tell me about this case?”

“The patient’s name is Adam Jackson, but the person you will be talking to, is his alternate personality called Amanda. She has sexually assaulted and killed three men and attempted to kill two more including the woman who protected Adam. This alter was formed in his early childhood when his father would force him to wear women’s clothing and then abuse him. Amanda gave him the strength to survive the ordeal. She has now permanently taken over the body in order to protect Adam. I hoped you two might be able to-Lucifer, what happens to split personalities?”

“It is one soul, a conflicted one, but it remains one soul in the end,” said Lucifer calmly. “Think of it as an extreme version of the different voices and desires and needs inside us. Sometimes they clash, usually there is a compromise, but it’s never easy.”

“Then, where are they headed?” asked Spencer. He would not cry. He wanted to believe that Tobias was in Heaven, while the identity that represented Charles Hankel and the one that represented Raphael burned in Hell. It was difficult to accept that things were more complicated than that.

“She has taken lives, Dr. Reid. Deliberately. She tortured them, raped them, and she enjoyed doing that. This part of him is strong and it needs to be punished. These men made no attempt to hurt her in return. They may have been jerks, some of them might have deserved punishment, but they didn’t deserve death,” said Lucifer adamantly. “Let’s check them out, shall we?”

“Amanda?” said Spencer quietly after he opened the door to Adam’s room.

“New meat just for me, Dr. Reid?” Though her face was covered in the dark, he could hear her smile. “You shouldn’t ha-“ The entire body shifted, and Spencer felt a moment of relief when his posture transformed into Adam’s meek mannerisms. The relief did not last, because the resulting scream was almost as bad as hearing his mother scream. Only with Mom, Lucifer’s presence had helped. Here, it was the opposite.

_“Oh God, what did I do? What did I do?”_ the poor man screeched right before he started hitting himself. “ _Oh God, I’m sorry! I hurt them so badly. Bad Adam! Bad, bad Adam! God, please, I’m sorry!”_

“Lucifer, out! _Now_.” Raphael’s voice was sharp and the devil obeyed immediately. The archangel himself took a step toward Adam, who scrambled away.

“Don’t come near me. I’m a monster!” exclaimed Adam.

“It’s alright,” said Raphael calmly. “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re not going to harm me. Take a deep breath.”

To Spencer’s infinite surprise, it worked, and the man started to calm down.

“Very good, Adam. Now, I’d like to talk to you and Amanda.”

Within seconds, Adam’s posture changed to Amanda’s, “What do you want from us?”

“You protect Adam. You’ve always protected Adam. That care and love is a wonderful thing. Why don’t you extend some of that love onto others? He cannot be all you care for.”

“Why not? It’s only ever been us and nobody else bothered to help us. Why should I help them in return?”

“What about Julie Riley?” challenged Spencer. He had not dared before, not wanting to drive Adam away further, but with Raphael nearby, he could. “She protected Adam. She helped Adam and you hurt her.”

“He doesn’t need her anymore,” hissed Adam’s alter personality.

“You only want what is best for Adam, don’t you?” asked Raphael calmly.

“Of course.”

“Then why deprive him of company? You are jealously guarding him and with that, you’re hurting him. Your wish to protect him stiffles him.”

Raphael’s voice was calm and no amount of verbal abuse seemed to touch him in any way. Spencer watched, observed, registered and was utterly fascinated with the archangel’s approach. He had expected something else (that his presence would heal where Lucifer’s granted clarity; to wave his hands and heal the mental wounds with the same ease as he had mended Spencer’s burned skin), yet what he actually witnessed was a therapy session. Raphael talked to both, could easily convince Amanda to let Adam speak, which was more than any therapist had managed so far (the biggest success had been that one of them successfully convinced her to talk to the therapist in a polite manner), but after one hour, Adam still was not entirely whole, which disappointed Spencer.

“The mind is a complex thing, Dr. Reid,” said Raphael. “It isn’t easily healed. Injuries to the body mend more readily than injuries to the mind for whenever we mend, we change, and changing the mind may change the person. It takes time. Only with time and patience can they heal and still remain who they are.”

Spencer sighed. He had hoped for something else; a miracle to be precise. This was the archangel of healing after all. Ha had expected a quicker resolution.

“The human mind is a wonderful thing, Dr. Reid,” smiled the archangel softly. His expression very closely resembled Lucifer’s whenever he explained things that challenged Spencer’s understanding to the point of being overwhelmed. It was a new sensation to get used to, especially when it came to astrophysics. Lucifer was kind about it, he truly was, but the more they talked the more Spencer realized that humanity’s understanding of the cosmos was pathetically inaccurate and incomplete. “Unfortunately, it is also fragile and easily harmed.”

Only then did Spencer realize that Lucifer was not waiting for them in the hall.

“Where’s Lucifer?” he asked.

“Outside,” was the reply. “He doesn’t like mental hospitals. For good reason.”

“He regularly visits my mother,” protested Spencer. Something in the back of his mind told him that he had gathered all the information necessary to understand the reason for Lucifer’s reluctance, but that he had not paid proper attention at the time, which was why he did not entirely grasp what was going on now. It was an unpleasant sensation.

“That is because he adores Diana Reid and thinks of you as a little brother. He’s never been able to deny his younger siblings anything,” said Raphael, his tone indicating fondness for his brother and no small amount of protectiveness.

“Why doesn’t he like mental hospital?” asked Spencer.

“Oh apologies, I thought you knew,” said Raphael. “Lucifer has a peculiar effect on humans with mental problems. He gives them a moment’s clarity and brings their innermost desires to the surface. It is very intense for all parties involved and it’s hard on Lucifer. He enjoys visiting your mother, because she is fully aware who he is, is kind to him and their desires match. They both want you safe and happy. That doesn’t make visiting her any less like he is running the gauntlet.”

“I didn’t-“ but he had. He had known – back when he was trying to solve the Riley Jenkins case – but he had not cared. He had selfishly focused on his own needs and desires, not even acknowledging that Lucifer was hurting. He hoped Lucifer did not believe that his momentary distraction meant that he did not care. It was not true.

He followed Raphael outside. Lucifer was sitting on the side of the building, leaning against the wall while smoking a cigarette, obviously lost in thought. He noticed their arrival, however, for he turned around and smiled.

“I’m sorry,” blurted out Spencer before he allowed the devil to speak. “I had no idea this would be painful for you.”

“Not painful for the reason you think, Dr. Reid,” was the quiet reply. “Adam Jackson’s reaction means very little to me, but I truly hate to disappoint you. Still, I cannot lie to you either. That doesn’t mean I wanted Mr. Jackson to suffer as he did while in my presence.”

“A moment’s clarity is your gift, Lucifer,” said Raphael gravely. “Only, for people like Adam, a moment’s clarity is unbearable because you put all the pieces in place and the resulting image forms a terrifying reflection of their whole self.”

“I know,” was the neutral reply. “Can you help him?”

“Yes. A few session and Amanda will allow Adam to be as he is. However, whether she’ll ever learn compassion or whether she’ll ever care for someone other than Adam, I can’t say,” replied Raphael seriously. “Adam hasn’t killed these men, Lucifer.”

The devil scoffed, “What do you want me to do? Tag him for Heaven? If I do that and Amanda properly corrupted his soul, their soul will burn and be wiped from existence. As truly merciless as she is, that punishment goes far beyond the realm of the acceptable.”

“Michael knows compassion, Lucifer.”

Disbelievingly, the devil glared at his little brother, “Forgive me for not having that level of faith in his capability for mercy. He showed none when I Fell. No, I’d rather take my chances with my system and your ability to heal his fractured mind.” He paused. “They destroyed three people, Raphael.”

“I know,” said Raphael sounding as downtrodden and sad as Spencer felt.

In response, Lucifer closed his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that, please.” He sounded genuinely pained. “I wish I could say what you want to hear, I truly do. The personality of Adam appears to be that of a sweet man, but some of the cruellest humans I’ve encountered genuinely cared for _someone_. Or animals. Or something. Few souls entirely lack positive emotion. That doesn’t mean that what they did in their lifetime is any less punishable.” He looked genuinely pained as if it hurt him to say this out loud, “Dad made me a torturer. Don’t tell me now I shouldn’t have. I don’t choose my sentences lightly.”

“This is why you are the bringer of justice, Lucifer,” said Raphael calmly. “Because everybody else would have long lost their ability to care.”

“All part of Dad’s plan, hm?” scoffed Lucifer sounding furious.

“He shouldn’t have made you-“ A hand was over the archangel’s mouth effectively silencing him.

“Don’t!” said Lucifer, his eyes wide and panicked, flicking skyward.

“I already think it, why not say it out loud?” challenged Raphael.

“Because I thought about defying him a long time before I said it out loud, but I only Fell once I did. Stop it, Raphael, or…”

“Or what?”

Lucifer took a step back, “I’ll make sure you never see me again.”

Raphael flinched.

Spencer knew this was not an empty promise. Lucifer’s eyes were very dark and Spencer knew that fear made him positively vicious, like a cornered animal. Desperately trying to deescalate the situation, Spencer said the first thing that came to mind, “Can you help my mother?”

Two sets of eyes were trained on him – one hazel, the other dark brown – and they looked almost as if they had forgotten he was there.

“Yes,” said Raphael resolutely.

“Raphael,” protested Lucifer.

“What?” challenged Raphael. “I can help. Do you really think all these miracles were just for show… or at Dad’s command? He’s never protested the way I handled my domain. She deserves it. Do you disagree?”

“Of course not, but…”

“As per your wish, I won’t censure Dad’s actions, but I have been given a request to help. Don’t make me ignore my domain.”

Heaven’s Healer straightened and stared down Lucifer with a confidence and strength that Spencer had not seen before.

“I won’t, Raphael,” replied Lucifer, his shoulders slumping. “I’m just asking you to be careful. Defying Dad has consequences.”

“You are living proof of that.”

“That doesn’t mean you understand what it means to be subjected to his wrath.”

“Stop!” said Spencer. He did not enjoy these two having an argument and if it were about anyone else, he would have retracted his request, but this was his mother, and her condition was not getting better without divine intervention. “Will you be in trouble if you help her?”

“No,” said Raphael firmly. “She isn’t on the brink of death and Lucifer was not the one to request her recovery. I am on the safe side. Just because she’s associated with you, brother, doesn’t mean she cannot get help. Her condition is severe and chronic, but from what you told me, your presence has already helped her, which is divine intervention. They might not even be able to tell the difference.”

“Temporarily,” said Lucifer. “I can’t help her permenantly.”

“That’s not true,” said Spencer. “Her condition has been better. You’ve visited her five times in the last 6.5 weeks, and even after you left, she’s more lucid than usual and was even able to reduce her medication.”

After Lucifer’s visits, his mother’s calls and letters increased by 25%. More amazingly, her lucidity was elevated by 13.4% overall judging by the letters, and although he had no proper control [this could be a temporary phenomenon unrelated to Lucifer’s friendship with his mother], Spencer was confident that this connection was not a simple correlation, but was based on a causative effect.

“See?” challenged Raphael.

“Brother, if you can heal her, I am all for it, but allow me to be concerned for you as well,” said Lucifer.

“Dad wouldn’t be so cruel as to command me not to heal.”

Lucifer closed his eyes, “Right.”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” said Raphael. “Dr. Reid, from what Lucifer told me, your mother’s condition is not a trivial matter. Please consider that healing her will involve many visits and take months, possibly years. Also, what I will do cannot be replicated by modern science, so please, set aside your ambition and accept my gift. It would hurt you to try and find a way to heal schizophrenia. You haven’t chosen the right specialty to contribute to the research. Human medicine has yet to go there and it will take another generation of psychiatry and neurosciene before we can truly help them. Leave it to the specialists. I promise that I will guide them in the right direction.”

It sounded like the leaflet of a prescription drug or the cautionary disclaimer of a drug advertisement _(“For information on risks and side-effects, please read the pack insert and ask your doctor if divine intervention is right for you.“_ ). Raphael made it sound like a terrible burden… months or even years? Spencer had spent a lifetime trying to help his mother, and now he finally could, simply because he made the right friends. He had not had real friends until coming to the BAU, not close ones at least.

He was so grateful to both of these two angels that he almost started to cry.

“Thank you.” He also looked at Lucifer, and this time, he could not keep his voice from shaking, “Thank you.”

Lucifer nodded. It was obvious that trusted Raphael, but it was also clear that he had no faith in God’s mercy and Spencer did not have it in him to blame him for it. Lucifer had helped his mother, too, and Spencer was fully aware that without him, not only Raphael would not be here, but that Raphael would not have offered it if Lucifer forbade it.

Whether the devil wanted it or not, Raphael’s loyalty had started to shift from his father to his brother, and Spencer was wondering what would happen if he were forced to choose. It was selfish, but he hoped he would not be around when this decision would have to be made. Lucifer did not respond well to any declaration of loyalty, and Raphael dearly loved both his brother and his father. It would be a painful decision for all parties involved.

Instead of dwelling on that (he would discuss the matter with the others soon enough), he decided to focus on the fact that there was a good chance his mother would soon no longer suffer from paranoia and that her mind could heal.

“Are you a good driver?” he asked.

After all, Mom had to arrive in DC safely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REF:  
> \- https://www.verywellmind.com/dissociative-disorder-vs-schizophrenia-4160180  
> \- https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/fear-flying-good-things/story?id=20471481  
> \- https://www.cityam.com/one-chart-showing-safest-ways-travel/  
> \- https://www.sawayalaw.com/blog/auto-accident-statistics-infographic/  
> \- https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/gender
> 
> A/N:   
> @Christyflare: As you can see, I figured that Raphael wouldn’t be able to stay away from healing Diana if Reid asked him to. While Raphael is afraid of Dad, I realized that this doesn’t even come close to how terrified Lucifer was of him. So, there you go. I hope you’re not disappointed with my choices…


	11. A Shade of Gray (4.21)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're looking for a seven-year-old boy, Kyle Murphy. Whatever JJ expected from the case, this was not it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for your kind reviews.
> 
> Apologies for not having a lot of time.

Jennifer was at the police station of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. They were trying to find Kyle Murphy, a seven-year-old boy abducted in the night before between midnight and 6 AM. While the rest of the team was out, Hotch had requested Spence, Lucifer and Jennifer to remain at the station narrowing down the suspect list.

Thanks to the two exceedingly fast readers and Garcia’s help, they quickly narrowed the list down to five and their prime suspect was Hugh Rollins, a man with a very long rap sheet. It did not take the others long to apprehend him, and Lucifer was positively bouncing at the opportunity to interrogate Rollins.

“He’s a bad man,” said Lucifer, smiling at Hotch. “Finally, not a ‘oh-no-Lucifer-his-alter-did-it’ or ‘but-the-town-drove-him-into-hating-them’ or ‘don’t-be-mad-at-her-she-just-retaliated-for-her-father’s-tasteless-attitude’ or ‘but-their-delusions-drove-them-to-kill’ case. This is just a plain old murderous pedophile. He’s mine, Agent Hotchner, I insist.”

“You would have been my first choice, Lucifer,” said Hotch, his lips twitching, “under one condition.”

“And that would be?”

“Jimmy Seager, a nine-year-old who may have been Rollins’ previous victim. His parents are on the way. I want you to talk to them.”

“I’m not good at comforting family, Agent Hotchner,” said Lucifer quietly.

“You’re far better at it than you think, and I want you to talk to them, because I want you to realize that punishing is not all you’re good at when it comes to this job,” was the resolute reply.

Lucifer looked like he was about to refuse, but Morgan chose this moment to less-than-gently guide Rollins through the station. Every member of the arresting party looked grim-faced, but then this was not surprising given the number of trophies the man had apparently hidden in his house.

“Fine.”

With that, Lucifer skipped over to Rollins and reached out to make sure the man stared straight into his eyes, “Tell me, did you murder Kyle Murphy?”

“No,” gasped Rollins, sweat pouring from his forehead.

“Oh, come on!” exclaimed Lucifer throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. “Are you telling me that _you_ are an innocent?” Whatever he saw in the man obviously elicited no small amount of disgust in the devil.

“I can’t go to State Prison. Do you have any idea what they’ll do to someone like me?” squealed the creep.

“Whatever they do, it’ll be positively pleasant compared to what Dromos will do to you after you die,” was the dismissive and cold reply, and JJ quickly looked around to make sure his words did not register with the police officers. Thankfully, the commotion of the arrival had distracted them. “Now, tell me, have you killed these boys? Have you killed Jimmy Seager and Andy Loeser?”

His devil mojo was scaled up to eleven and the local police officers knew better than to interfere. Some instinctively backed away. Morgan reached out to grab Lucifer left forearm and said, “Let me get him into the interrogation room first, shall we?” His eyes gleamed with satisfaction, but his lips formed a tight, grim line. He obviously enjoyed Lucifer’s handling of the situation, but he loathed the case itself.

“If he didn’t kill Kyle, then there’s a good chance the boy’s still alive…” suggested Emily hopefully, but Derek left the interrogation room seconds later.

“It wasn’t him,” said he grimly. “He confessed to the murders of Jimmy Seager and Andy Loeser by the time he sat down, but he told Lucifer that Kyle ‘wasn’t his type.’ Too young, apparently.” Morgan looked pale as he added that tidbit of information.

Hotch’s expression was also grim and he gestured them to a more private spot, “Don’t tell Dave and Reid, they’re on their way to the crime scene and I don’t want to bias them against anything. I think someone staged the abduction, made it look like Rollins. I don’t think he lied to Lucifer. He doesn’t have the mental capacity to lie into the devil’s face. Kyle is not one of his vicitms.”

“We bagged the toys,” said Emily. It sounded like she was both just informing Hotch and like she was confessing to him that she would have preferred never to have found them in the first place.

“Thank you,” said Hotch quietly.

“Who’re you suspecting, Hotch?” asked Morgan.

“Detective Lancaster is the only person privy to the details of the two previous murders and Kyle’s disappearance.” With that, he unlocked his phone and called Garcia asking her to find out everything about Lancaster, which was followed by a distinct warning to the whole team that they should try to remain discreet.

“Excuse me, agents?” asked a police officer, Simon Clarkson, if JJ remembered correctly.

“Yes?”

“You might want to check on your civilian consultant and the suspect,” said he. There was no small amount of cold amusement gleaming in his eyes.

“What has Mr. Morningstar done?” asked Hotch, not too much in a hurry to get between the devil and his prey.

“Don’t know, sir, but Rollins is currently whimpering in a corner, and Mr. Morningstar is smiling. He’s kind of terrifying. Can we keep him?”

“He’s ours, officer,” said Morgan immediately, his grim-faced expression loosening for the first time since entering the station.

Rollins had his face covered and was trying to hide in a corner. Lucifer was balancing on his heels and remained on eye-level with Rollins. He said something so quietly that they could not hear it.

_“I’m sorry,”_ whimpered the child molester and murderer. _“I don’t know why I do these things.”_

“Is that supposed to make me feel sorry for you?” was the merciless response. “Stop hiding, you pathetic excuse of a human being. I know what you are. _Tell me your sins_.” Even through the thick glass, Jennifer felt the impact of his words. One of the officers who had followed them into the room turned to Hotch and said hesitantly, “I-I, my boy’s ill and the insurance isn’t covering all of the cost, so I took money from the station. I’ll pay it back. I swear!” Hotch gently pacified him, but his focus was on Rollins and Lucifer.

Rollins’ entire face changed following Lucifer’s request. The frightened man was gone and what was left was an ugly, cruel expression, “The little bastards were begging for it. They wan-“

Lucifer’s hand slammed the metal table, which caved under the sheer power of the blow.

_“Holy crap!”_ exclaimed the police officer next to her.

“They don’t,” hissed Lucifer. “None of them ever do. _Tell me your sins.”_

And he did.

In nauseating detail.

Jennifer could not listen to all of it.

He told Lucifer everything.

How many boys he had stalked, abducted, raped and killed.

How he had selected his victims.

When he went into the details, Jennifer had to leave the room. She joined Morgan who was standing in front of their board, clearly lost in thought.

“He’s still at it, then?” asked Morgan.

“I left when he went into detail on what he did to Jimmy Seager. I’m going to have to look into Jimmy’s parents eyes. I won’t be able to do that if I-” answered JJ quietly. “How can he listen to all that?“

“This is going to sound awful, but my first guess is that guys like Rollins don’t even make his Top 1000 list of the worst individuals he’s encountered. Tape’s running?”

“Yes. Hotch’s still in there,” said JJ. Emily had left earlier to join the search for Kyle. “How does _he_ do it?”

“Hotch would never let any of us go through a confession like this by ourselves, not even our angel,” answered Morgan quietly, just as his phone started to ring. “Yeah, Emily?” He closed his eyes. “Keep an eye on you-know-who, okay? I doubt he realizes we’re suspecting him, but be careful… Yeah, I’ll let Hotch know. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “They found Kyle in the woods. His was placed very gently and carefully, not at all like the previous victims.”

“He was dumped by somebody who cared for him, then,” concluded JJ.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Morgan opened the door to join Hotch, who looked composed but paler than usual. He was the only one still in the room. Most of the officers had left.

“- _that’s it. Does this mean I’m not going to State Prison?”_ they heard Rollins ask Lucifer, who had been listening to the confession with a face aso expressionless it might as well have been carved into stone. His posture was unnaturally still.

The question seemed to bring him back into motion.

_“Why on Earth would I do that?”_ asked Lucifer.

_“But you…”_

_“I’m with the FBI, but I have no influence whatsoever regarding where you’ll be stored for the rest of your short life,”_ said Lucifer. _“Not that I care, honestly.”_

_“You can’t do this!”_

_“Do what? Give you what you deserve? Oh, I can and I will,”_ thundered Lucifer sharply and Rollins was so startled he flew off his chair pressing his back against the wall.

_“I prefer black holes over this,”_ spat the devil. _“They always sniffle for mercy, too, but only in the end, after I punish them. You’re a coward and you try to hide your darkness behind fear. Enough of that. Now, I’ve been thinking about punishment. Wouldn’t want to do something that will give you lenience in front of the court. Oh! That’s it.”_ He smiled, snipped his fingers and left the room leaving behind Rollins who was breathing heavily.

“What did you do?” asked Morgan as soon as Lucifer joined them.

“Have you ever watched the movie _Liar Liar_ with Jim Carrey?” asked Lucifer, grinning dangerously. “He won’t be able to hide his true self, not in front of a jury, not in front of a judge and not in front of his inmates. Granted, the outcome won’t be as hilarious as Jim Carrey trying to fight his own hand, but it’ll serve as his punishment on Earth. After that, he belongs to Dromos. Wouldn’t want it to be anyone else.”

“How is that possible?” asked Hotch, quite surprised.

“What is my domain?”

“Light.”

“’ _The truth will set you free.’_ I cannot lie. I never could. I’m not sure honesty is a part of Light or if I made it part of Light or if Dad connected the two just to mess with me, but my presence can inspire a confession. My sentence can enforce it for eternity.”

“And you don’t do this more often because…?” asked Morgan.

“Why would I? I only do it where it’s warranted. It’s a sentence… Punishment bestowed after we have the answers, after I know for sure that this is what they deserve. I bestowed it on him because he’s hiding his nastiness behind cowardice. It may inspire pity. I simply want to make absolutely sure everybody sees him for who he truly is.”

“Neat, too bad it’s not gonna help for solving cases,” said Morgan. “But I guess that outside of actual punishment for a crime, this would be too much of a breach regarding someone’s free will.”

Lucifer smiled at that, “Precisely. I thought I saw you leave?”

“You are able to see through that glass?” frowned Morgan. “Forget it,” said he quickly, remembering why he was here in the first place. “Hotch, they found Kyle Murphy’s body. Lancaster looks like the probable candidate.”

“The detective?” repeated Lucifer, surprised. “No, he didn’t kill the boy. He couldn’t live with the guilt.”

“Are you sure?” asked Hotch and explained to Lucifer why they thought it could be Lancaster.

“Quite.”

“Morgan, have Emily, Rossi and Reid bring in the parents. Something’s up and there’s a chance they’re involved. Morgan, you and I will talk to Lancaster. Lucifer, you talk to Jimmy Seager’s parents.”

“And what do I tell them?” asked Lucifer, unsure.

“JJ will stay close. You’ll tell them about Rollins, his confession and then have them identify the toy. In case Rollins suddenly changes the story, we need to connect him to his previous victims.”

* * *

Jimmy Seager’s parents arrived shortly after the team left. Lucifer had gone outside to smoke a cigarette. By the time he returned, Jennifer had already greeted them, and gently led them in front of the room with the toys.

“Did you find him?” asked Mrs. Seager. “The one who did it?”

“Yes. His name is Hugh Rollins,” answered JJ. “He’s already confessed. There is no need for you to see him. This is Mr. Morningstar, our civilian consultant.”

Mrs. Seager turned to look at Lucifer, sorrow hanging over her like a dark cloud, “A civilian consultant of what exactly?”

“Many different topics,” answered Lucifer. “Religion and the occult as well as general history and criminal history worldwide.”

“How many men like my son’s murderer have existed throughout history?” Mrs. Seager, her eyes full of tears.

“Too many,” replied Lucifer softly. “We found this one, however, before he could hurt anyone else.”

She nodded, “Did you find the little boy from the news?”

“Rollins did not take him,” said Lucifer, skillfully guiding the conversation into another direction.

“So, religion. Are you a religious man, Mr. Morningstar?” she asked. “Do you believe in God?”

“You cannot believe in something you _know_ exists, Mrs. Seager. Believing means you don’t know. Knowing means there is no need to believe,” was all Lucifer said in response. His voice remained gentle.

“I used to be that confident as well,” said she bitterly, “but you’re wrong. There cannot be a God. The God I believed in wouldn’t have let my boy suffer and die like this.”

“Mr. Morningstar-“ JJ tried to intervene, but Lucifer did not listen.

“Are you telling me your faith in God only lasted as long as your own life ran its course without suffering, thus ignoring the number of wars and deaths waged in his name alone? Do you have the slightest inkling how many children have been murdered, raped and hurt over the millenia? But that is all just dandy as long as _you_ and your loved ones are fine?” Lucifer asked disbelievingly. “I hope that, once your grief is no longer a gaping wound, you’ll realize just how ridiculous that remark is.” He paused. “God has nothing to do with any of this. Hell did not cause this either. I’m not a fan of God, but he doesn’t influence your lives the way you think. He’s not responsible for your son’s fate.” He sighed. “And neither are you, Mrs. Seager.”

She inhaled sharply, unable to hold back the small cry stuck in her throat, “We were asleep down the hall, thirteen feet away and we didn’t hear a thing.”

“That doesn’t make it anymore your or Mr. Seager’s fault. You felt safe and warm. How were you to know something was wrong?”

_“He took my boy!”_ she barked before sagging into her ex-husband’s arms. “And I didn’t know. What kind of mother am I?”

“A loving one,” responded Lucifer. “One so loving, he became the light of your life, and now that he’s gone, you are left in the dark. Something you have in common with your husband.”

“Ex,” said both automatically, carefully avoiding each other’s gaze.

“I see,” said Lucifer quietly. “Do me a favor. Both of you. Follow me.”

“You said on the phone that we need to identify something,” said Mr. Seager, visibly brazing himself for whatever would come next.

“Yes, that too, but that’s not it,” said Lucifer. “Please, come.”

They trailed after him and so did Jennifer, getting more and more curious once she realized he was leading them outside.

“What do you want to show us?” asked Jimmy’s mother.

“That it’s a beautiful day,” said Lucifer. “Have you noticed?”

“There hasn’t been a beautiful day since-“ she shook her head.

“I know,” said Lucifer quietly.

“Do you?” she retorted doubtfully. “Do you have children, Mr. Morningstar?”

“No, Mrs. Seager. I’m infertile,” was Lucifer’s resolute response. JJ had heard him say it before, so she was quite ready for that statement, but it shocked Jimmy’s parents out of their daze.

“I’m sorry,” said Mrs. Seager. “I have no idea why I’m being awful to you.”

“Your Light is dimmed and you want the rest of the world to be as dark as you feel inside,” said Lucifer. “And I’m blindingly bright, so you attack me fiercely.” JJ knew he did not mean to sound harsh, he was simply being honest, but his statement was brutal in many ways. Jimmy’s mother winced.

“I may not have children,” continued Lucifer, “so I’m not pretending to understand what it’s like to-“ he halted. “I do actually, in a way. Understand. You keep wondering if there was anything you could have done to stop it. There is a hole where they used to be and nothing can truly close it.”

Jennifer had to tell the others. He had told them – and a bunch of strangers – that he _made_ the dragons, and David mentioned that Lucifer apparently ‘failed’ to give them proper souls. The current hypothesis was that a younger Lucifer accidentally did something wrong while making the dragons and that was why they became extinct. Morgan suspected that Lucifer’s Dad wanted the dragons dead and that Lucifer was forced to bring forth the extinction of the dragons and subsequently, the dinosaurs, but JJ could not imagine that. She did not want to imagine it.

Or was this about something else entirely? Losing his siblings perhaps?

The fact she could not tell which tragedy in Lucifer’s life made him feel personally connected to the pain of a grieving mother whose only child was abducted, raped and murdered said a whole lot about the devil’s existence.

“What do I do?”

“Breathe. Both of you,” he addressed the Seagers. “Take one day at a time. Enjoy the sun when you can,” smiled he. “Soak it up. You need all the light you can get. Lean on others. Lean on each other. Don’t let yourself be dragged down.”

“He wouldn’t want that,” said Mrs. Seager and it sounded like a mantra.

“Spawns at that age don’t really understand complex matters like depression. He would notice that you’re sad, though, and I’m sure he wouldn’t want that,” said Lucifer. “So, yes, you are right. One thing I’ve always respected about the young ones is their ability to see through a fake smile. Don’t smile when you don’t feel like it, but don’t suppress it when you do. It’s not a sin to move on.”

It sounded like absolution to Jennifer, and it definitely had an impact on the Seagers.

“Thank you,” said Mr. Seager, his hands on Mrs. Seager’s shoulders. “We’ll… do our best.”

“Good,” said Lucifer, “that’s all I ask of you. Not an easy task. Giving your best at all times is exhausting. Please stay here. I will bring the evidence for you to identify. I don’t want you back in that building. It’s stiffling.”

Before they could protest, he had left them behind.

Mrs. Seager sat down on the staircase that led up to the police station. Taking a shuddering breath, she looked around.

“It _is_ a nice day,” said Mr. Seager carefully. “Don’t we have to identify the-“

“There is no doubt he is the culprit. He’s given his full confession, but we want to see if any of the physical evidence can be connected to the murder of your son.”

“How?”

The word barely left his lips when Lucifer left the building, a gray box in his arms.

“Do any of these toys look familiar to you?” asked the devil gently.

With trembling hands, Mrs. Seagers removed the evidence bags from the box until she found a large toy soldier; she gasped and hugged it gently, while crying her heart out. Jennifer felt her own heart squeeze painfully. Jimmy’s mother held onto the toy not wanting to let go, while Mr. Seager held her close. Lucifer packed the rest of the toys, and brought them inside gesturing her to follow.

“She’ll have to bring it back,” said Jennifer. “It’s evidence.”

“Stanley Usher,” said Lucifer.

JJ flinched. She had not expected the pyschic’s name to come up in this conversation.

“Apologies, Agent Jareau,” said Lucifer remorsefully. “What I’m trying to say is that I told you: a favored object can store a bearer’s essence even thought it doesn’t work like a mood ring or supernatural GPS. It merely is. That boy, as brief as his life was, was happy and he loved his parents and his toy with all his heart. All of these toys are full of love. I think that Rollins kept them for that reason. Probably the only source of Light in his miserable existence. There’s no life in these toys, no memory, no direct connection to those who once carried, cherished and coveted them, but there is an impression, a reflection of who their bearers once were. I hope it is enough to give them sufficient Light to continue. They’re both almost devoid of it.”

About fifteen minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Seager brought back the evidence. Lucifer’s softened expression confirmed what JJ could see by eye: they were not well, both looked tired, but part of their burden seemed to have eased just a little.

“Thank you,” said the women as she held onto Lucifer’s hands before they left.

“How did it go?” asked Hotch as soon as he arrived less than ten minutes after the Seagers’ departure.

Lucifer gave him a quick rundown, which Hotch praised, “Well done.”

“What about the detective?”

“He lost his two children in a car accident. He’s got nothing to lose. I think he knows what happened and wasn’t afraid of bending the rules to help his friends.”

“You think the parents killed the boy?” asked Jennifer.

“I’m not sure,” frowned Hotch and looked at his vibrating phone. “JJ, would you mind picking up the ME’s report? It’s ready.”

“Sure. Lucifer, interested in joining me?”

“Always, Agent Jareau,” smiled Lucifer.

“Let me get some water from the kitchen first,” said JJ. She felt the first symptoms of a stress headache and hoped that drinking would help.

Emily was in the kitchen with the Murphy family. JJ opened her mouth to say something when Lucifer exclaimed, “Why didn’t you tell me you found our killer, Agent Prentiss? Granted, he’s smaller than the norm, but dark souls can be efficient even from the cradle. Actually, there was that one time when-“

The resulting gasp from Mr. and Mrs. Murphy – not one of shock, but one filled with horror and fear – said it all.

“I can’t do this anymore!” cried the Mrs. Murphy, her entire body shaking from a mixture of emotion that Jennifer did not want to further identify. “He has a temper. He didn’t mean to.”

“Oh, he absolutely did,” replied Lucifer coldly. Mrs. Murphy’s loud confession had alerted Rossi, Reid and Hotch who joined them. “His temper isn’t the problem. His utter lack of relating to someone else’s pain is.”

“Did Danny kill his little brother, Mr. Murphy?” asked Hotch. The man did not reply. He simply started to cry.

„Damn. Next time, I’m calling dibs on the devil,” Emily muttered into Jennifer’s ear looking at Danny Murphy in slight shock.

The case, it turned out, was horrific. Danny had killed his little brother for accidentally breaking his model plane. In retaliation, he had stuffed pieces of the plane down Kyle’s throat. He was a sociopath. The Murphys had known or suspected it, and had hidden more than one case of animal cruelty including the death of their puppy when the boy was five. Four years later, he had killed his own brother.

Danny Murphy would turn ten in two months.

Lucifer was the only one who seemed to take the entire situation with stride (“ _See? This is precisely why I despise children. Creepy,_ _backstabbing creatures.”_ ), but he was quiet when they arrested Detective Lancaster for an attempted cover-up and for framing Rollins; though nobody had the slightest bit of sympathy for the man who had hurt so many boys, it still was not right for a member of law enforcement to pin Kyle’s murder on him. Apparently, Lucifer was satisfied with how they handled it, because later at BAU headquarters, when Rossi admitted to being surprised at Lucifer’s lack of a reaction, he said.

“There’s no need for me to interfere when you’re doing an excellent job, Agent Rossi. You didn’t let Detective Lancaster get away with it. You knew it was wrong, you were sympathetic but not forgiving and you especially impressed me by making it clear that justice isn’t about winning or losing. It is to make sure that those who do something wrong are punished for their crimes. I admit that during our last cases, I felt… You showed so much sympathy for the sinners, I’ve felt a bit alone in my domain. I’ve become quite unaccustomed to being alone, and I didn’t enjoy the sensation,” he continued. “It’s good to have a case where we all agree.”

“Just because we feel sympathy doesn’t mean we believe you’re wrong,” said Hotch quietly. “Promise us that you’ll tell us if a case makes you feel like an outsider. In the months that I’ve known you, I have always seen you as an impartial judge and we’ve looked to you for an unbiased opinion. I apologize if this made you feel alone.”

Lucifer nodded before he grinned, “If you want to chime in on ideas for celestial punishment, feel free to brainstorm with me. I like my punishments to be fitting and creative.”

“This feels like a test,” said Morgan. “Is this a test?”

“Dad is the one who likes testing humans,” said Lucifer. “I’m merely asking for your input. Is there anyone already in Hell who deserves some additional punishment?”

“As if you didn’t do that while you were in Hell a few weeks back,” said Rossi.

“Partially, I couldn’t do too much or my demons would have seen me and secrecy was key. Tell me, I know you want to.”

They took it for the playful offer it was and nobody named their personal boogeymen or the cases that truly got to them. It was a very interesting conversation, however, and it showed them to how the members of the team ticked. Rossi in particular had some vicious ideas. Apparently, so did Jennifer if Lucifer’s delighted expression at some of her suggestions was anything to go by. For all that this was an awful case, it was good know that they could still laugh and tease each other. By the time she went home, she could whole-heartedly agree with Lucifer. It was a really beauitful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, no notes...
> 
> Next up: The anthrax episode.  
> Might change up a few things, because the summary of the episode talks about a "viral infection", which is not what anthrax is. It's a bacterial infection...


	12. Amplification (4.24)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthrax, a long-lost baby sister, a clandestine lover.   
> Emily can say a lot of things, but life hasn't been boring since the devil entered her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunday night. Gotta go to sleep...
> 
> Thanks for the great responses and apologies for the long-ass chapter...

Emily suspected something was wrong when JJ called. She knew for sure when she exited the elevator together with Morgan and saw that their floor was crawling with military.

“Lucifer,” she mouthed at Morgan worriedly who nodded and followed her to find Hotch.

“He’s fine,” said Hotch the second he noticed their arrival.

“How did-?”

“Reid asked. Rossi asked. JJ asked. I figured you were anxious about exactly the same thing. You needn’t worry about that. He’s fine. More than fine, actually.” They followed his gaze and he was clearly flirting with several of their guests.

“Somebody needs to teach him subtlety,” murmured Morgan fondly.

“You’re welcome to try. Mr. Morningstar!” exclaimed Hotch causing Lucifer to turn around. “We’re ready.”

The devil obeyed immediately and all amusement left the room when Dr. Linda Kimura, the Chief of Special Pathogens at the CDC told them about an anthrax attack that led to the hospitalization of 25 people who had all visited Maryland Park prior to their symptoms. Half of them had already died and many more were ciritical.

Unsurprisingly, Reid knew quite a bit about anthrax.

Apparently, not only was this disease primarily found in livestock (and later abused for its potential to be weaponized), the bacterium causing the disease, _Bacillus anthracis_ , was the first pathogen ever to be directly linked to disease according to today’s gold standard, the so-called Koch’s postulates (she did not ask; she knew not to ask for details by now). Also, one of the first live vaccines ever created was Louis Pasteur’s anthrax vaccine. The bacterium later became attractive as a potential bioweapon due to its most dangerous properties, the ability to sporulate and to last in the environement for a very long time. You could make it into a powder and distribute it easily. Vaccines existed, but their efficiency following exposure was unknown and it took time to develop immunity. She knew Cipro was used for treatment, but Dr. Kimura was unsure whether Cipro would help the patients.

“Has the strain already been sequenced? If it grows so quickly, have you already performed antibiotic susceptibility testing?” asked Reid.

“Sequence analysis is ongoing as we speak. Antibiotic susceptibility testing has revealed multiple resistances that are unusual for _Bacillus anthracis_. Sequence analysis is currently focusing on the potential presence of a multi-resistance plasmid.”

“That would be bad,” said Reid.

“While the treatment is worrisome, what really upsets me is the incredible virulence of the strain and the potency of the toxin it releases. Usually, it takes time for the respiratory symptoms to develop. While skin lesions and gastrointestinal symptoms upon ingestion can appear within 1-7 days, this strain primarily affects the lungs within hours.”

“Reid, why don’t you join Dr. Kimura? You might be able to learn something about the strain and you can conduct interviews with the survivors as far as that is possible. Mr. Morningstar, I’d like you to go with them. Do you think Dr. Sanzio would be able to join us? His expertise would be very welcome.”

“I’ll call him. If you will excuse me,” said Lucifer and left the room.

Utterly flabbergasted, Kimura watched while their favorite angel left the meeting room and folded his hands to call Raphael.

“Is he praying?” asked Dr. Kimura disbelievingly.

“Yes, prayer is very important to him,” answered Hotch honestly. “Is this okay for you, Dr. Kimura?”

“I guess so. Who is Dr. Sanzio?”

“He’s an excellent infectiologist. He’s helped our team before,” replied Reid.

“He won’t be joining us,” said Lucifer returning from his prayer. “There are first whispers of a serious disease outbreak in Niger. That’s where he is right now. However, he said that another sibl-expert might be close if her current… assignment allows.” He was trying really hard to sound human and utterly failed at it.

“Before we leave, let me remind all of you not to contact anyone. I know this isn’t easy, but we’re trying to avoid mass panic,” said Hotch. “Also, everyone please take a dose of Cipro.”

“Drugs?” asked Lucifer hopefully.

“Ciprofloxacin,” said Dr. Kimura sounding bewildered. “It’s an antibiotic and a prophylactic measure that might protect us if we’re exposed.”

“Pity,” said Lucifer, took the pills and downed them in one swallow. “Oh.”

Emily decided she did not like to hear that exclamation from Lucifer’s lips.

That included other expressions like ‘uh-oh’, ‘oops’, possibly included ‘eek’, ‘huh’, ‘unexpected’ and ‘fascinating.’

She looked in the same direction. An approximately thirty-year-old woman, possibly of Native American descent, was observing the members of the BAU, or rather, stared at Lucifer.

“Excuse me,” said Lucifer quietly. Like a cat, he untangled from his comfortable position and sauntered over to the woman who looked uncomfortable and a little frightened.

“Emily,” muttered Hotch and she followed Lucifer without question. The devil on a mission was not always privy to other people’s emotions and it was clear that here, he could not read how hesitant the stranger was.

“Hello, Muriel.”

Oh.

This was a _sister_. It had to be.

The angel did not say anything, simply stared at Lucifer, dumbstruck and awed. He breathed audibly and continued, “I’m Lu-“

“I know who you are,” she said breathlessly. “Thank you. Raphael told me you helped when they…” Her voice trailed off and she continued to stare mutely at the devil.

“Whatever the other ones told you,” said Lucifer, his face expressionless in a way that telegraphed his pain to anyone who knew him, “I have not and will never hurt the little ones.”

“That’s not…” she protested, her eyes filling with tears, “you look like Dad.”

If Emily thought this statement was like a punch in the gut, she could only imagine what this felt like to Lucifer.

“You’re afraid of Dad?” asked the devil, nonplussed.

“No!” she denied quickly. “No,” she continued more quietly. “It’s just... I miss him.”

Lucifer sighed, “I’m not him. He’s much, much brighter, but,” he opened his arms, “come into the Light, little one.”

She curled into him like a kitten. It was different from the hugs he gave them or Raphael. The gestures were the same, but it seemed to Emily like there was an invisible cocoon engulfing Muriel and the profiler had the sudden impression that Muriel was a very young angel. The way she seemed to disappear into his arms was kind of sweet and heartbreaking.

“Why didn’t you show yourself to me after you saved me?” she muttered into his arms. “I thought you were Dad and then you were gone. Raphael was really disappointed that he didn’t see you.”

Lucifer did not answer.

“Raphael really wanted to see you,” she continued. “He missed you.” She still did not really look at him.

“Ah, well, Amendiel really wants to see me, too. I didn’t know how meeting him would end.”

She slowly, reluctantly, untangled herself and looked up, “You thought he’d hurt you?”

“There was no need for me to challenge his loyalties. Avoiding him spared us both the pain.”

“If you think so, Br-Lucifer,” said she obediently.

“It’s been a long time since I visited Heaven, but feel free to contradict me, oppose me. I’ve never demanded my sibilings’ obedience and I’m not going to start asking for it now,” said he.

“Okay, then I think you could have spared each other a lot of pain if you had talked before,” she said, looking at her feet, thus appearing very, very young.

“There she is,” smiled Lucifer, touching her chin, so she would look at him before he agreed. “Turns out you were right about that. Now, while we may have an eternity to get to know each other, the humans needs our help now.”

Her gaze drifted from him to Emily and back to Lucifer, “It’s true then. They _know.”_

“And will you look at that? Dad hasn’t killed me yet,” replied Lucifer casually and led her to the rest of the group. “Everyone, this is my sister, Muriel-“ he looked at her and she mouthed ‘Jones’, “Muriel Jones, Muriel, the man who’s currently massaging his temple is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, followed by David Rossi who’s covering his beard like he always does when he’s both amused and annoyed, the openly grinning one is SSA Derek Morgan, the one screaming ‘genius dork’ is Dr. Spencer Reid. You’ve already met the brilliant SSA Emily Prentiss. The currently a bit nervous but usually calm and collected voice of reason is Agent Jennifer Jareau and this is lovely Dr. Kimura from the CDC. I’ll introduce you to Ms. Garcia later.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Muriel, smiling widely. Dr. Kimura was thankfully too focused on the job to really question what was going on.

“What are your credentials? You shouldn’t have access to this floor,” said she instead.

Instead of answering, Muriel removed a cell phone from her pocket, dialed a number. She did not have to wait for long, “Hey, it’s me. Can you get her on the phone please? Thanks.” Again, she waited, but she did not have to wait for long. “Hi. Can you tell Dr. Kimura that I’m qualified to help with the current crisis in DC? Thanks.” She handed over the phone.

“Hello? Who is this?” Dr. Kimura nodded. Mere seconds later, her eyes widened. “Yes, ma’am. Yes, of course. Thank you.” She hung up and stared at Muriel. “The deputy director is currently at the White House explaining the situation to the president. How on Earth- It doesn’t matter. Thank you for being here, Dr. Jones. Dr. Reid, your brother and me wanted to visit the hospital. Would you like to join us?”

“My brother is needed elsewhere. He should help solving this case rather than waiting in the hospital. Disease really isn’t his domain.”

Emily was momentarily distracted when she felt eyes on her. A man in military uniform was watching them closely and he was now slowly approaching them. Emily was honestly surprised she had not noticed him before because something told her that he had observed them for a lot longer than she thought.

“True enough, sister, but I don’t enjoy the idea of you going there alone with all these trigger-happy military types around,” said he quietly. “The last time you were around any govermental official, it did not end well. You know these mindless jarheads cannot be trusted.”

“Now first,” said the man, clearly within earshot now, “refer to us by ‘G.I. Joe’ or ‘Captain America’ not jarheads. We aren’t Marines. Second,” he grinned, especially when honest surprise stole its way on Lucifer’s expression, “I sincerely hope you don’t believe me to be mindless or trigger-happy.”

The man was of Morgan’s height, but thinner, though obviously fit. The way he moved was carefully controlled and overtly harmless, which told Emily that he could be from Special Ops.

Lucifer’s mouth was slightly opened in absolute surprise, his eyes wide, but then he said, “Not as far as I can tell. I didn’t really expect you here.”

“Another sibling?” Morgan addressed Muriel who shook her head in response.

“We’ve met actually,” said the man. “Or rather, I saw you, back in Woodland. I gave one of my men a ride, Bob Simmons, Detective Anderson’s soon-to-be husband.”

A vague memory of a man in a car and Lucifer subtly joining him started to form.

“Timothy!” exclaimed Reid. Emily had no idea when Lucifer had let the name slip, but she trusted their genius to know what he was talking about. “Correct?”

“Yes and no,” was the self-conscious reply. “Timothy’s my second name. The name’s Ryan. Captain Ryan Turner.”

“Oh.” Lucifer sounded surprised and a little hurt, but he shook it off quickly. “Crisis management is your team’s specialty, but they aren’t here, are they?

“My team’s on leave. Theoretically, so am I,” answered Turner. “I was called to Fort Detrick a couple of hours before all hell broke loose, so I offered my assistance. Anyway, let’s not lose too much time on formalitiess. You guys find out who did this, I’ll protect the doctors.”

“Just one moment,” said Rossi, “I don’t want to waste time trying to investigate you, but technically, you’re inserting yourself in our investigation.”

“Agent, I could give you weeks’ of psych evals, which have been consistent for years. My name is Captain Ryan Turner, United States Army Special Forces, 5th Special Forces Group, 3rd Battalion, Charlie Company. My team is specialized in humanitarian missions and my specialty is crisis management. General Whitworth sent me here to see if you could use my help. A member of your team helped a member of mine, Agent… Hotchner, is it?” he addressed Hotch. “I’d like to return the favor.”

“Accepted, thank you. Reid, Muriel, you two go with Dr. Kimura and Captain Turner. As of now, we have no leads. Dave and Morgan, go to Maryland Park, and try to make sense of the crime scene. Emily and Lucifer, I want you to stay here until General Whitworth arrives. He’ll bring us the files of every scientist working at Fort Detrick. We don’t have a lot of time, so let’s work quickly.”

The team split up as was routine. By the time they left, Turner had already very efficiently built a connection with Dr. Kimura, Muriel and Reid in less than five minutes, which rang true to what he had said about being specialized in crisis management. Emily kept a close eye on him and Lucifer, though. While they were waiting for Reid who was getting his bag, she saw him approach their devil.

“Lu-“

“Morningstar,” said Lucifer reflexively.

“Of course,” accepted Captain Turner immediately, though obviously shaken by Lucifer’s apparent rejection. “Mr. Morningstar-“

Lucifer sighed, “Look, it’s not what you think. My name has… implications and I’ve been told to restrict its use within earshot of people who don’t know me.”

“Got it, Morningstar,” said he, his posture considerably less tense. “I’ll see you once this is all over. At Astra if that is okay?”

“Of course, Captain B-Turner.” Lucifer smiled at the man fondly. “Keep them safe, please. All of them.”

“You have my word.”

With that solemn promise, their short meeting was interrupted by Reid’s arrival. Lucifer spontaneously engulfed his sister in another hug before they left.

“Are you alright?” was Hotch’s first question as soon as they had left.

“The babies have never even _seen_ me, Agent Hotchner. Yet, they hate me. I’m just glad Muriel doesn’t,” said Lucifer, but ancient despair colored his voice.

“And Captain Turner-”

“-asked for my discretion,” said Lucifer firmly. “That’s all I will say on the matter.”

“Good. There’s the general. Let’s get to work.”

Soon, they had two dozen files to revise.

“I don’t think there is a religious component to this,” said Lucifer.

“Why would you expect there to be one in the first place?” scoffed the general coldly.

_“’Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land.’_ ” he quoted effortlessly. “A religious zealot would have made his motivations clear by now.”

“Good point, Mr. Morningstar,” said Hotch causing the general to exasperately leave the room muttering something about ‘useless profilers’. “The sixth plague of Egypt was anthrax.”

“Yep.”

“I thought your father-“

“Nope, the sixth plague happened after Sekhmet left Earth behind. She warded off disease. When she left… Things weren’t well back then,” he concluded. “Nothing to do with what’s going on right now. Dad couldn’t help but meddle with inner-Egyptian politics. I begged him not to, but…” he sighed. “What do I know? If he hadn’t sent them away, their infighting might have destroyed all of Egypt. Still, thousands died and it devastated an entire country. Some good came out of it, though. The price was high.”

“Let’s assume then that this is all human made, do we have any leads?” asked Emily.

“Morgan and Rossi found that there must be a personal element involved. They found a bookshop where a first trial run was performed,” said Hotch and looked at Garcia who was in the room with them. “Any past or present personnel at Fort Detrick who have had grievances with the bookshop?”

“None, sir,” said she apologetically.

They had no clear suspects by the time they delivered the profile to a room full of military personnel ( _personal element that fits with a homegrown terrorist, idealogue, histrionic, paranoid, secretive; he probably suffered from professional humiliation like a demotion or being fired. He betrayed his loved ones to his cause and will be watching the news very closely_ ), but they were dependent on their input, which rubbed Emily the wrong way. General Whitworth was less than inclined to listen.

Thankfully, they were given a clue and a solid suspect shortly after delivering the profile: Dr. Lawrence Nichols, forced out of the Army in ‘02. He was an alarmist demanding that extreme measures had to be taken to protect the people from a widescale anthrax attack. His demands would have led to 50 billion USD in spending, and were utterly unrealistic. After being forced out, he started to work at a military-associated company, Bio Design Technologies, which primarily worked on the flu.

Hotch made sure that the celestials together with Morgan and Dr. Kimura went to Nichols’ home while Emily and David were sent to his workplace. The decision was a good one, because he definitely only worked on the flu at work, but in his home, Muriel and Lucifer found a lab where they found a broken vial with spores in it. Emily was just glad that that Muriel had absolutely insisted on going through the house alone with Lucifer. According to Morgan, she had effectively shut down every human protest rendering every person present silent and, on top of all that, managed to convince Lucifer to don a protective suit. In the lab, they found Nichols’ body and there were indications for a potential partner.

Morgan had pictures of Lucifer in protective gear and she was looking forward to teasing the hell out of the devil… She did not need the nudes. She knew Lucifer would provide the happily upon request.

They were now looking into a cure for the remaining patients, which Nichols’ had to have hideen in his lab (though Emily was quite confident that Muriel was no more able to let any more humans die than Raphael) and into the partner’s identity. They found a thesis that Nichols, a very passionate teacher, had corrected. According to Reid’s sharp mind, however, it did not like the pupil was a biologist and rather somebody from Social studies.

That gave them one name: Chad Brown.

He had grievances with Maryland Park, the bookshop and he was rejected from Fort Detrick several times.

Things had to go very quickly after that. In the house, Dave and Morgan found evidence that he was making anthrax bombs out of lightbulbs and that his next target would be the DC train system.

The profile said that Brown would hit the Green Line, because it was connected to Fort Detrick, but Nichols’ papers said that it would be the Red Line. Hotch was very firm in his insistence that it would be the Green Line.

“But Nichols told him to hit the Red Line,” protested Whitworth.

“The profile says Green Line and this is where we’re going,” countered Hotch. “I would appreciate your help.”

With that they went on the move.

“Captain, where the hell do you think you’re going?” thundered the general.

“Sir, with all due respect, I’m on leave,” said Captain Turner. “I’m tired, I just want to go home and relax, and my experience tells me that these people know more about Brown than we do. Brown killed Dr. Nichols. It think it’s more likely that Brown wants to get revenge for his own grievances rather than follow his old mentor. I’m going with them.”

It was a good thing they did. General Whitworth himself was the one to end the threat by conning Brown into giving up his weapons with a false promise to get him into Fort Detrick.

Then it was all over and Emily wanted to sleep for a week.

“Who’s coming to Astra?” said Morgan. “Just to relax. I’m not up for partying, but Lucifer said something about playing a duet with Frank, and I could use some soothing oldtime soul. Turner, you must be coming with us. You did an excellent job today.”

“Not quite what I promised, though,” said the man, looking over at Lucifer and Muriel who were having a conversation in a language that Emily could not identify further.

“Well, you promised you would keep Dr. Kimura, Reid and Muriel safe,” said Morgan. “After Muriel told you to _‘stop treating me like a child, Captain, or I will show you that, while Lucifer may think of me as a hapless baby, I have dealt with far more crisis situations than you, and if you ever step between me and my duties ever again, I will not hesitate to incapacitate you’,_ I am pretty sure Lucifer will be understanding that you decided to join us helping to arrest Brown rather than continuing to shadow her.” Emily almost choked on the water she was drinking.

Angel.

Lucifer’s baby sister or not, chances were she was born several thousand years ago.

“Are they having an argument?” asked Reid, frowning.

Muriel’s arms were crossed as if on the defensive and Lucifer was looming over her. Emily had no idea what they were saying, but the body language spoke for younger sister-older brother argument.

“A loving one, I’m sure,” said Turner. “My youngest sister is eighteen years my junior. He’s just worried. It’s natural.”

“I have an older and a younger one, but yeah, I agree,” said Morgan. “How many siblings do you have?”

“Four sisters, two brothers,” smiled Turner fondly. “I’m pretty sure when we first met, we bonded over oppressive, overtly religious fathers and having too many siblings yet loving them to pieces regardless. It’s good to see him with one of ‘em though. I thought he missed them whenever he talked about them.”

“It’s complicated,” said Emily.

“I’m starting to see that.” He sounded a bit sad.

They watched as Muriel hugged her brother, gave them all a gentle wave and left.

“Everything okay?” asked JJ once Lucifer was close enough to respond.

“Hm? Oh, yes. There’s another crisis waiting for her, but she’ll do her best to drop in on Monday nights,” he smiled. “She’s grown and Raphael made sure she never gets herself into similar trouble ever again.”

“I can tell you this much, you’ll never stop worrying,” said Turner gently.

“Believe me, I know,” sighed Lucifer. “Lux? I mean, Astra?” He smiled at them.

“I thought you’d be angry with me,” said the man quietly.

“Captain,” said Lucifer kindly. “I may not seem like it or live by it, but I do understand subtlety. There is not need for any further explanation. I am offering you a quiet night at Astra. That is all. If you will excuse me, I will work on Agent Hotchner. He’s not having young Jack over and that means I might actually convince him to join the rest of us.”

“Jack’s his boy?” asked Turner as they watched Lucifer go into Hotch’s office.

“Yes,” said Reid. “This is the first time Lucifer’s referred to him by his name and not an inaccurately used term for animal offspring, which has far included ‘spawn’, ‘larval human’, ‘pup’, ‘whelp’, ‘spawn’ again, ‘hatchling’, ‘nymph’, ‘sprat’, ‘juvenile’, ‘duckling’, ‘fingerling’, ‘tadpole’, ‘larval spawn’, ‘ephyna’, ‘wriggler’, ‘puggle’-“

“Reid, Reid,” interrupted Morgan gently, “I think he got the gist.”

Turner just grinned, “I did. I’ll see you later. Gotta change into something less military.”

Three hours later, the whole team was at Astra. Turner had not shown up yet.

“He’s feeling melancholy, isn’t he?” said Rossi. Frank and Lucifer had been playing an enormously enjoyable forty-minute-set, but now that the devil was playing by himself, his music was thoughtful and quiet. Rossi was right: Lucifer was being melancholy.

“Hey!” interrupted Garcia, nursing her drink, “Stop profiling the piano-playing devil. You promised.”

“He never told us we couldn’t,” muttered Morgan, leaning so far back into the sofa it looked like he was about to fall asleep.

“That’s because he knows you really, really want to,” said JJ in Garcia’s defense. “But profiling of teammates is forbidden.”

“Really?” laughed Frank, a beer in his hand. “Don’t tell Lucifer then, he’d hate to punish you for breaking some unspoken profiler rule.” He sat down next to Morgan.

“Lucifer doesn’t punish the breaking of non-celestial rules,” said Hotch.

“True,” admitted Frank before raising his glass. “To you. For whatever catastrophy you prevented today.”

“Thank you,” smiled Morgan. “Turner’s not here.”

“It doesn’t look like it,” answered Reid. “I hope this won’t disappoint him.”

“Disappoint whom? Why?” grinned Lucifer having abandoned the piano to join them on the couch. In his hand was a glass of high-quality liquor and he handed another glass over to Rossi who had similar tastes in alcohol (though if Rossi drank as much as the devil, he would not have a liver left).

“Captain Turner’s absence,” clarified Reid.

“Oh,” said Lucifer, his smile just a tiny bit dimmed. “No, he’s not the type to flaunt in public.”

“He seems like the sociable type to me,” challenged Morgan straightening up in order to lean forward.

“Absolutely,” said Lucifer, “with you, and the rest of you. Being seen with me in private has implications.”

“Because…”

“You know why,” said Lucifer, his eyes a shade darker than usual. “His career is important to him.”

“DADT was repealed a while ago,” commented Rossi indignantly.

“Not nearly long enough to change the minds of people. Besides, DADT was implemented by one president and repealed by another. The pendulum is always swinging and never ever steady.” The fact Lucifer knew so much about it told Emily that he had been confronted with the topic more than once. She could only nod.

“Thankfully,” sounded a familiar voice from behind the couch, “I’m not going to have to worry about that, because by election day, I’ll be retired. Twenty years served. Time to say goodbye.”

It was impressive that Captain Turner had managed to slip past a group of profilers. How he managed to slip past a very observant Frank and the devil was on a whole other level. Lucifer’s face brightened, “Hello, you. How did you get here?”

“Know where your objective expects you to be and don’t be there,” was Turner’s reply. “Very easy principle. It’s easy when you’re not expected.”

“I figured you’d come by later,” said Lucifer quietly, his head tilted.

“I would’ve,” confessed Turner, “if I hadn’t seen your face when I told you my real name. You can tell them, you know. Please talk,” he added, “not sure if I can just yet.”

“Timothy has been explained, but where does ‘Bennet’ come from?” asked Lucifer, thus indicating that he had met Captain Ryan Turner as Timothy Bennet.

“My mother’s maiden name,” confessed Turner quietly. “I found it easier separating my family and professional life from my sex life… At home, I was Ryan, at work, I was Captain Ryan Turner, and in LA, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, NYC,” he sighed, “Amsterdam, Sydney, Melborne, I was Timothy Bennet, just some guy who’s not worried about his career. I came out to my family last year. They took it relatively well, suspected it, I guess. My father doesn’t know and the bastard doesn’t deserve to know.”

“That’s it!” exclaimed Frank in protest. “Honestly. Is ‘daddy issues’ really a requirement for being friends with you?”

“Says you,” chuckled Lucifer. “Your relationship to your father is disgustingly sweet. Just like Candy’s bond with hers before he died. Just like Agent Morgan’s. If it were a requirement, I would hardly be friends with any of you.”

“Ha! So I am your friend,” grinned the musician happily.

Lucifer scoffed in response taking a sip from his drink. His eyes were on Turner, “Congratulations on your coming out. From what I’ve seen with members of my staff and a considerable number of lovers, it’s never easy to be anything but a heterosexual, cis-gender, ‘normal’ person.”

“Doesn’t make me any less of an ass, you know,” he looked chagrined.

“We’ve had two nights, Captain Turner – I must admit it suits you better than ‘Bennet’ – and you’ve always been most considerate. You’ve even give me means to contact you if I needed you… or you didn’t protest when I accidentally unlocked your phone.”

“My encrypted phone,” clarified Turner. “I still wonder how you did that.”

“It was ringing. Very annoying,” moaned Lucifer sourly.

“We were sleeping,” Turner addressed the rest of the team, “my phone rang and he – no idea how – unlocked my password- and fingerprint-protected phone, turned it off, wrote a message to my superiors that I would contact them as soon as my duties allowed, and thus aquired my phone number. That’s what happened.”

“You promised me breakfast. And a nice shower,” grumbled Lucifer. “They were being pushy.”

The Special Ops officer laughed, “It was a nice shower. Thank you.”

“It really was. Thank _you_ ,” smiled Lucifer. “Don’t feelt bad,” he continued more solemnly. “If you’re struggling, I can get you into contact with Jana Lawrence, not this Lawrence,” he shuddered, as he looked at Frank who grinned wiggling his eyebrows, “I just imagined the two of us… let’s forget you and Jana share the same family name. She might have to change it. Anyway, she’s a friend. The two of you might be able to talk. She’s good at it.”

“I’ll do that,” was the soft reply. “So,” he clapped his hands together and gestured to Lucifer’s right, “seat taken?”

“Oh, please be my guest, Captain,” grinned Lucifer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References:  
> \- Wikipedia on anthrax  
> \- https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/military-terms-and-jargon.html  
> \- https://www.americanspecialops.com/special-forces/  
> \- https://www.army.mil/article/178409/a_green_beret_reflects_on_necessity_of_strong_relationships_with_local_allies  
> \- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moses-Hebrew-prophet  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_religion  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Egyptian_deities  
> \- https://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/baby-animal-names.html
> 
> A/N: As you know, I changed the years to align the ‘old’ BAU with our Lucifer TV show. Tartarus took place in October 2015, The Devil Comes Down to Quantico in November 2015, Ashes in June 2016 and True Believer will take place in September 2016…. There was Rift Valley Fever Outbreak in Niger in 2016. Between August 2 and September 22, 64 human cases and 23 deaths were reported (https://www.who.int/csr/don/29-september-2016-rift-valley-fever-niger/en/). That’s where Raphael was in this episode. Trying to contain it. Let’s pretend that the anthrax episode was in mid-august 2016. The weather is beautiful in the episode, so I might not be too far off.


	13. To Hell… And Back (4.25, 4.26)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When JJ presented the case of William Hightower, a former Army sergeant who had lost his left leg in action and who had driven into a guard post of the Canada-side of the border before confessing to killing ten people in the last month, Aaron already knew that this case would stick with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much.
> 
> This time, I can explain the length of this chapter. After all, I summarized two episodes :)

When JJ presented the case of William Hightower, a former Army sergeant who had lost his left leg in action and who had driven into a guard post of the Canada-side of the border before confessing to killing ten people in the last month, Aaron already knew that this case would stick with them.

“Hightower’s actions make no sense. What could be his motivation? PTSD?” suggested Dave.

“The body count is too high to take chances,” said Aaron quietly. Then he looked at Lucifer who had not said too much yet. “Is Ryan still in town?”

“He planned on leaving tonight, but yes,” frowned Lucifer. “Why?”

“I’m just wondering. He’s an Army officer. CID has no jurisdiction in Canada. They’re headquartered twenty minutes from here and we already talked to them. It’s a Canadian case and they invited the FBI. Hightower knows that. The last thing he’ll expect is a superior officer to interrogate him.”

“Ryan is retiring, Agent Hotchner. His resignation letter is written. If you have been listening at all, you know that he wants to help underprivileged prepubescent human offspring, an idea Frank is insanely happy about. He’s already offered to give free music lessons… probably for the better, because Ryan can’t sing and if his life dependend on it.”

“I know all of that. I also know that he’s been worrying about finances. We hardly ever need military consultants, but it would allow him to work with us on a parttime basis, so he’ll get more benefits without fearing deployment. I am sure General Whitworth will support the idea.”

“I see what you’re doing,” said Lucifer indignantly. “Do you want to destroy my sex life? Is this the goal? ‘No sex with co-workers’, ‘no sex on the clock’ and now hiring one of my lovers?”

Despite the dire situation, Aaron could not help but smile, “Don’t sleep with him while you’re together on a case. Stick to previously established rules, and I have no problem with the two of you being an item.”

“Again with the romance,” Lucifer rolled his eyes this time. “We aren’t an item. We have a certain fondness for each other and occasionally engage in fun nightly activities. You should try it.” Despite his reservations, Lucifer recited Ryan’s phone number, so that Aaron could type in the number.

While Aaron stepped aside to call the Army captain, he overheard Dave’s inquiry whether Ryan already that Lucifer was married.

“Know? They spent an hour on the phone together. It’s not as terrifying as Jana and Candy who, I am convinced, conspire against me these days, but terrifying nevertheless. They were both giggling. Why were they giggling?”

“Couldn’t you just overhear the conversation?”

“She made me promise that I wouldn’t,” grumbled Lucifer.

“ _Hello?”_

“Ryan? Hi, this is Aaron Hotchner speaking. Listen, I have a question…”

It turned out that the captain was very willing to assist as a military consultant. He was retiring because he was getting tired of deployment, but he was struggling to take that final step of actually leaving the organization that had been a major part of his adult life. It only took them two calls to hire him as a temporary consultant on a trial basis – one to Strauss and one to Ryan’s superiors – and he was in for this case. They all met at the tarmac an hour later with Ryan being the last one to arrive. He entered the plane and was greeted jovially by the team; they had all come to appreciate the calm and comforting presence of the Army captain.

“Oh yes,” grinned Lucifer. “A man in uniform is always a treat.”

“What am I, chopped liver?” asked Morgan after standing up to greet the man by patting his shoulder, thus playfully dispelling any possible tension that could rise from Lucifer’s inappropriate flirting.

“Agent Morgan, you’re gorgeous, with or without uniform, though if you want to make a simple devil happy, please wear that dark, slim-cut suit more regularly,” grinned Lucifer, which reminded the team effectively that, while Ryan may know Lucifer personally, he was not actually aware of his true identity; at least not as far as they could tell.

“Stop it!” they heard Garcia protest. “No flirting between my chocolate thunder and vanilla dream when I’m not around to enjoy it.”

“I guarantee you, they’ll be marginally less inappropriate when they’re out in the field,” reassured him Dave. Ryan waved it away; he was obviously shocked by their on-the-job antics, but he seemed to enjoy being around professionals that remembered to have fun.

“Then let’s get to it.”

After presenting the case to Ryan, the man made his first contribution, “I called Hightower’s superior. I don’t know either of them personally, but as I’m sure you know by now – either from the Special Forces Group I served in or from the languages I speak – we’ve tangentially been deployed in similar areas. His superior worked with a friend of mine, and he still had his contact. Hightower’s reputation is impeccable. Protective type, very grounded, low risk for PTSD.”

“He lost his leg,” said Emily.

“Yes, and that can change people’s behavior, but still, from what they told me, it would be a massive change of character.” The captain shook his head.

“It _can_ happen,” said Dave.

“I’ve seen it happen,” confirmed Ryan. “I’m just saying. His commanding officer was surprised to hear about this.”

“Thanks for letting us know,” said Aaron.

“How do you want me to go about this? Play the ‘fellow soldier’ or the ‘superior officer’ card? I can do both hardass and understanding, whatever suits your interrogation best.”

“He won’t expect you, so I’d prefer it if you took advantage of your authority,” said Aaron. It would give him the opportunity to play hot and cold much more efficiently.

“Will do.”

When they arrived, Reid, Morgan and Emily immediately drove to Detroit to check in on the missing persons in the Cass Corridor, a location known to hold many high-risk victims, like prostitutes, drug adddicts and homeless. If Hightower had said the truth, this was his victim pool. Jeff Bedwell – a Canadian detective who knew exactly how they liked to work because Dave had trained him – was the one to welcome the rest of the team. Aaron had to mentally toss a coin on where to send Lucifer, a mental exercise with which he had become familiar. On one hand, Lucifer was really good at connecting with people, while on the other hand he wanted to hear his thoughts on Hightower. In the end, he sent Reid with Morgan and Emily, because he too was able to connect to those on the outskirts of society, especially sex workers.

“He doesn’t look like a killer to me,” muttered Lucifer, “but then I could be wrong. Guilt is hanging over him, so what I can tell you is that he’s not nearly as cold-blooded as he said he was.”

Ryan side-eyed Lucifer, “He’s a veteran and lived through no small amount of hardship overseas. Guilt comes with the territory.”

“Not the same,” contradicted Lucifer. “This isn’t survivor’s guilt or the guilt of taking a life in combat. This is… I don’t know. Neglect? Did lack of action rather than action lead to loss of life in his troop?”

“Not as far as I was told,” said Ryan slowly, his eyes still on Lucifer. It became quite obvious that in the past two weeks since settling in as a guest in Lucifer’s home, the angel had taken no action in trying to hide his otherworldliness, but had also taken no steps to tell him who he was. Ryan Turner was an observant man. It was clear that he knew something was up. Lucifer was oblivious to it.

“Do you want me to go in?”

“Yes, please, Captain. Normally I would wait, but your presence will throw him off-course as effectively as me waiting for information from the rest of the team.”

Ryan nodded and left the room to go to Hightower.

Making sure that they were alone, Aaron addressed Lucifer, “You’ll have to tell him eventually. Or is it like with Jordan Todd?”

“Not at all,” sighed Lucifer. “I just-It’s easier to tell when I expect rejection or when I don’t know them well enough for it to hurt. I want him to simply accept and continue to treat me as I am, like Frank did – the most anticlimactic identity reveal of all times, I tell you – but I don’t know and… it’s one thing to know you’ve met the devil. It’s another entirely to have slept with him.”

“Jana took it well.” He had never actually met Jana Lawrence, but JJ had back in LA, and Lucifer may not mention her regularly, but often enough for the team to notice the shift from her being in the dark about Lucifer’s true identity and being ‘enlightened.’

“Jana’s mother is from Seoul; while she rejects organized religion, she’s not an atheist and taught her daughter to be open and to respect other people’s faith. Her father was born in Mexico, but lost his parents at the age of five and was later adopted into a family at the Texas-Mexico border. His parents were Catholics, his adoptive family can loosely be categorized as mainline Protestant. Jana herself was born in Fremont, California. She’s always believed in a higher power but rejects organized religion just like her mother. She was bound to take it well. Ryan, he grew up in rural Alabama. His father was a bible-thumping, intolerant, mean man, just like his father before him. No matter how much Ryan rejects this mindset, I… It took him a long time to accept who he was; I don’t want to destroy that by revealing myself to him.”

“You shouldn’t worry too much,” smiled Aaron, hoping that Ryan would wait just long enough, so that he could fully share his true and honest thoughts with the devil. “If two Catholics, a woman from a Pennsylvania small town, a man disillusioned with the thought of religion by the time he was thirteen, an agnostic genius, one unique Penelope Garcia and the son of an intolerant bible-thumper find your presence to be comforting and your existence to be a revelation to our lives in the very best sense, I am convinced that you’re not giving him enough credit. He likes you, Lucifer. You know he’s not going to run away screaming. It may take time until he overcomes the first shock, but we wouldn’t just let him go through the five stages by himself.”

“What stages?”

Before Aaron could elaborate on the five stages of devil reveal (a metric they had created in the team to keep track on all the people who knew, a steadily growing number that Reid kept track of), Ryan entered the room to face Hightower.

The shock on the sergeant’s face was obvious.

_“Sir!”_ he exclaimed and rose from his seat so fast that he almost overbalanced, indicating that he was either in pain or still unused to dealing with the loss of his leg.

_“Sit down.”_

Even without looking at Lucifer, Aaron knew he was grinning from ear to ear. The devil very much enjoyed confident partners; neither Ryan nor Lucifer were conventional alpha males, though both could project authority as effectively as any alpha. However, Lucifer enjoyed handing over the reigns to his partners if they desired it.

_“Want to tell me what’s going on, Hightower?”_ continued Ryan. His leadership style was apparently firm and quiet. He probably had his team’s complete and utter loyalty. He managed to project both understanding and making it unabundantly clear that he would not accept a lie.

_“Sir, could you tell me your name first?”_

Oh, so Hightower was not a pushover.

_“Don’t test my patience. I don’t give damn if you were discharged or not. If what you told the Canadian authorities is true, you used the skills that the Army taught you to kill innocent people. I will make sure you’ll be tried for that.”_

_“They’re just prostitutes, homeless and drug addicts,”_ countered Hightower. _“Nobody cared about them when they were still alive, why should I?”_

That was the first lie and Aaron was ready to go in. As if he knew Aaron was thinking about them, Morgan called to give a first update confirming Ryan’s earlier assessment. Hightower was a protector and tended to check in on the people, making sure they were safe. The only thing he was unclear about was the motif. You did not do these things out of duty; you did them out of love.

“He didn’t kill these people, Agent Hotchner,” said Lucifer.

“I know,” said Aaron, smiling a bit before going in with Ryan.

The presence of a superior officer had completely thrown him off and it did not take them long to find out that he was looking for his sister who had slipped onto the streets twice, and who had disappeared not too long ago. He had hidden the information on her in the car he had used to drive into the guard post in order to make sure they would investigate the missing people case first before he shared his personal connection to it.

The additional information gave them a crucial lead,

Port Huron.

The busiest border crossing in North America: that was where the UnSub somehow managed to smuggle his victims. Dave managed to convince Bedwell to release Hightower into their custody. They took him to the Cass Corridor, because he had connected to the people on the streets and they might provide them with additional information.

Meanwhile, Garcia found out that whenever an abduction took place, there was a report of a break-in into medical facilities in the Cass Corridor. The items that were stolen included anaesthesia, sterilizing equipment, IV tubing, O-neg and chest tubes, which allowed them to classify the UnSub as a sexual sadist for whom inflicting pain and performing experiments and/or surgery could serve as a substitute for the sex act and it pointed to a medical background for their UnSub.

JJ had spent a lot of time informing the families of each missing person, and it had to be rather depressing for her to realize that there were not that many people to contact.

The arrival of Hightower’s mother nearly caused a scene.

“Why did you call her?”

“She has a right to know that her daughter may be out there,” said JJ.

“No,” contradicted Hightower sharply, causing Lucifer to look over from his spot, and Aaron was ready to step in if things escalated. “Bad news stops us for a while, but then we move on. Hope is paralyzing.”

“You’re not wrong,” said Lucifer casually, “but she deserves the truth.”

Before Hightower could say anything, Mrs. Hightower was looking at her son with an expression of disappointment and fondness.

“You did a stupid thing.”

“Yes, ma’am,” confirmed Hightower.

She just hugged him.

She then looked at the board and saw the ten missing people.

“Are all of these people missing?”

“Yes,” confirmed Hotch softly. “Your son helps us find him.” Once the mother left, Hotch made it abundantly clear that he would be doing time in Canada for his deeds.

While all of this was happening, Reid noticed that the UnSub abducted the people in clusters alternating between male and female, which was strange given that prostitutes would be the easiest target, especially in terms of separation. While it was easy to do with sex workers, it was harder to say how he did it with the drug addicts or the homeless, especially considering how the people worked in groups these days, a clear indicator that they knew they were being targeted.

Morgan and Hightower were the ones to find out that every missing person disappeared on the day they cashed their welfare check and one of Hightower’s contacts told them about the place where they could cash the checks that were either for food or lodging (‘and most people out here don’t want food or lodging’). The man who took the checks owned a motel on Third. After threatening him to arrest him for obstruction of justice, the man immediately sang and told them about the drug dealer on the other side of the street who was there every two to three days.

They also heard about Kelly Shane, a 17-year-old runaway, who had just cashed her welfare check and now disappeared as well. Time was suddenly running short.

Bedwell made sure they checked every car at the border that fit the motel owner’s description, but they did not catch the UnSub, which indicated that he used another route.

“What about the Underground Railroad?” suggested Hightower. “Detroit was one of the last stops for a slave before they escaped into freedom in Canada.”

“Right,” said Lucifer. “The crossing was just around two miles northeast from here.” He pointed in that direction.

Hightower frowned, “History buff?”

“I like living history rather than studying it,” said Lucifer.

Morgan opened his mouth, “Did you-?”

“Not officially,” said Lucifer. “Merely helped with the funding.”

“Helped with what?” asked Ryan, having listened attentively.

“Nothing,” said Hotch. “There are no historical landmarks that register the crossing points.”

“Well, if I remember right, they built a series of victorian homes along the river to signify safe passage.”

All it took was one call to Garcia and they had him.

Mason Turner.

* * *

An hour later, they arrived at the pig farm.

And that was when all Hell broke loose.

Metaphorically speaking.

Lucifer was in Aaron’s car, and he was grateful that they were alone, because Lucifer’s eyes flashed red.

“Evil has festered here,” said the devil darkly.

“We’re at the right place, then?”

“Yes,” said Lucifer and exited the car swiftly. They were right next to the pen that held the farm’s pigs. “ _Shut up_.”

The deafening sounds of the squealing pigs instantly stopped.

“L-Morningstar, what-?” asked Ryan.

“They’re hungry,” said Lucifer quietly.

“Hung- you think they ate…?” began Morgan, horrified.

“Their bodies. They haven’t killed anyone,” sneered Lucifer. “But they do like the thought of human flesh.”

Ryan stared from the pigs to Lucifer.

“Their master, the one who feeds and eats them is out in the woods with a squealing female juvenile. However, the one who controls the master, the one who watches at all times, is here.” He looked up and Aaron followed his gaze seeing the reflection of a man in the house.

“Can you find them in the dark?”

“There is too much noise around here and the woods make it hard to triangulate a sound, Agent Hotchner. He’s probably controlling her; the pigs call him ‘giant master’, so he must be a big, strong man. She’ll do her utmost not to make a sound, and he’s silent. There are bears in these woods.”

“Keep an ear out, will you?”

“Yes, I’ll stay here, Agent Hotchner,” smiled Lucifer. “There’s always time for punishment.”

“Morgan, Prentiss, take a look around. Mr. Morningstar, Captain Turner, would you mind joining them? Hightower, you stay with the captain. I can’t have you in there.”

With these instructions, the rest stormed the farm only to find that Mason Turner, the one who controlled the pigs’ master, was quadriplegic.

A foul-tempered individual, but physically incapable of killing anyone.

However, he knew better than to dismiss Lucifer’s statements. It was harder to convince Bedwell. The Canadian detective was already apologizing to Turner and was willing to leave when Morgan entered the room, pale and shaken.

It quickly turned out, that no matter how bad Aaron thought this case was going to get, it was much worse. In a container, Emily and Morgan had found about a hundred pairs of shoes. This was the moment that Bedwell called in every available officer nearby.

“Morgan, where is Lucifer?” Hightower was with Ryan who did a splendid job; he did not develop the sudden wish to play detective and instead actually kep an eye on Hightower like he promised.

“I… Shit, I don’t know,” said he.

“It’s okay. Lucifer,” said he using the same tone as before. “I’d like to talk to you.”

“I’m here, Agent Hotchner,” said Lucifer, coming from a barn nearby. “The pigs said that this was their master’s den. He certainly lives there. And a younger spawn, I think, judging by the drawings I saw.”

“Reid, go check out the barn. Well done, Lucifer. What do you know about what happened here?”

“Enough evil that it permeates every corner of this place apart from the barn itself. I want this place to burn, Agent Hotchner.”

“Not yet,” said Aaron calmly. “Are you saying that the place where the pigs’ master sleeps is not as evil and dark as the rest?”

“Yes,” confirmed Lucifer. It was always a sight to see him at night as nothing pronounced the fallen angel’s inhuman characteristics more. “As I said, there are childish drawings in that barn. A little light in the dark. I want to go into that house.”

“Okay, agreed Aaron. “Stick to Dave and don’t let it burn to the ground.”

“As you wish,” said Lucifer calmly and sauntered over.

“Morgan, as soon as Bedwell’s men arrive, make sure forensics starts to unturn every stone in this place. Call the detective from Detroit.”

“Benning?”

“Yes, I want her to see this. Also, organize the search team together with Emily. Make sure that Hightower and Ryan join the search teams.”

“Why? Bedwell isn’t going to be happy if Hightower bails.”

“That’s why I want Ryan with him. I don’t want Hightower on these grounds.”

“Why?”

“Lucifer’s reaction to the farm is visceral. He says words like ‘evil has festered’ and ‘there is no light in that house’… I don’t want Hightower to be here longer than he has to be. He’s desperate and I don’t want to know what will happen if he loses hope and a very vulnerable culprit is nearby.”

Back in the house, Rossi told him how Mason sold out his brother, basically told them to shoot first and ask questions later… That was before Lucifer had his turn.

“Tell me, what is it that you desire?”

“To walk again and to make my brother pay for what he’s done.”

“Fraternal disputes. Oh, I know them all too well, Mr. Turner – I told Ryan that his name might as well be that of a serial killer, he just laughed at me – but still, even I find it kind of harsh that you are so willing to throw your brother under the bus. Now, how do you want to achieve your desire to walk again?”

“I-I-don’t-I,” he closed his eyes. “You have no right to ask me that question.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong,” grinned Lucifer and leaned in closer.

“Mr. Morningstar,” interfered Aaron before he performed the celestial version of a shakedown to acquire this confession.

“He’s guilty, Agent Hotchner. He reeks of darkness,” growled the devil, not very willing to let go off his prey.

“David will stay with him,” said Aaron. “I want you to go out there and help the rest.”

“Why? He must be punished,” challenged Lucifer.

“I need you out there because Morgan and Emily are shaken. I don’t trust Hightower to behave, Reid is currently investigating the barn, which – according to you – is the only source of light in this g-damned place.” He lowered his voice and pulled Lucifer aside to make sure the UnSub could not overhear. “I need the Lightbringer to help my team through this. For this house, I’m calling up my own source of light.”

With that, trusting Lucifer to put his desire to help his friends over his need to punish, he put his phone to his ear and called Garcia whom he told to take the next flight to the farm. They needed physical evidence to connect Turner to these murders or he would pin everything on his younger brother Lucas, the ‘giant master.’ The best chance of that was Mason’s laptop.

While David stayed with the quadriplegic man, he moved outside where police car after police car was coming to a stop. Lucifer was with Emily and Morgan saying something that made them smile.

They would figure this out.

He trusted his people.

* * *

The next morning came and Emily was organizing the search party.

Reid contradicted the UnSub’s assessment of Lucas Turner being a psychopath. Rather, he was suffering from a mental condition that had severely impacted his psychological development. If they were to confront him, he would appear childlike and confused. Lucifer’s assessment was not wrong then, only that there was no child involved. Aaron would commend him for noticing, though. Their devil still struggled with picking up emotional cues from others and believing that there was a child involved was a logical, astute deduction.

Garcia arrived and Lucifer, who seemed to have taken to his new task of helping the team through this case with grace and gleeful determination, danced over to her.

“Oh, Little Red Riding Hood,” he purred. “I would love to eat you.” Aaron had to give it to him; Garcia’s headscarf had a remarkable resemblance to the fairytale.

Ryan, who was coordinating with Emily regading the search team thus putting his training to excellent use, snorted with laughter, before focusing on his job. Hightower’s expression was grim, but the team seemed to welcome the distraction.

“Oh, Grandmother,” replied Garcia with a wide grin. “Your teeth aren’t big enough to eat me.”

“I would love to try,” smiled Lucifer automatically offering to carry her laptop, which Aaron took.

“The search party is leaving in ten,” said Aaron. “Go check on Morgan. What’s the count?”

“89 pairs including Mr. Hightower’s sister,” said Lucifer. His voice was calm, neither shocked nor overtly shaken by everything they had unearthed here. “Detective Benning has brought 35 open case files of missing persons. A lot of forgotten people found a less than pleasant death here.”

“Are you okay?” asked Aaron automatically. It had become his standard question. Morgan had admiringly taken care of the forensics team, making sure they took turns, but he himself had not slept and it was taking a toll on him.

The look Lucifer gave him in turn was ancient, “Oh, my dear Agent Hotchner, if only this were the worst of it. You’d be surprised what humans can do to each other.”

“I have a fair idea,” breathed Aaron.

“Don’t forget that there’s always light in the darkness,” was the calm response. “Look around. Right now, there is so much light here. All these people, they’re just humans, flawed and imperfect, but full of light, and they do all they can to eradicate the sheer misery and pain that evil wrought upon this place. I heard some of the forensics people say that ‘God has abandoned this place.’ It’s not true. First of all, Dad doesn’t really deal with places like this, but the point they’re making is that the Light has abandoned the farm, not realizing that they’re the ones bringing it back with every breath they take as they thrive to bring those who did this to justice.”

If Lucifer were human, Aaron would generally call him a cynic. However, he was the devil and considering what he had to have seen, he was admiringly optimistic. It was interesting how Lucifer cynicism disappeared almost completely whenever they were faced with true darkness. Dr. Bill Thomas was right; he took to these cases with a calm that no human could hope to achieve and Aaron was so, so grateful for his presence.

“Thank you,” was all he said.

Two hours later, they had the evidence they needed to know that Turner had known of and probably bullied and manipulated his brother into these actions, but the former prosecutor in Aaron knew that this was not good enough. A jury might not convict a quadriplegic.

There were good news on the search party front, though. The dogs did not pick up a scent, but Lucifer heard the girl screaming for her mother. It allowed him not register her voice and triangulate the position and they were now following Lucifer through the woods.

How he could walk through the terrain in a tailored suit and expensive shoes, Aaron did not know, but he would ask him later. Ryan’s fitness level showed here, because he managed to follow Lucifer through impossible paths without really being out of breath. He also kept an eye out for possible traps.

“You know, I’ll never ever make fun of Morgan’s brutal fitness regime ever again,” said Emily, breathing heavily. Morgan was not far behind the other two, but while he was good cross-country, he had by far less experience than Ryan on this terrain, and nobody could rival the devil’s swift, unhurried strides. “And remind me to not challenge Ryan.”

“Should have sent David,” was all Aaron said, just as breathless.

“There!” said Lucifer.

“How do you know that?” asked Ryan. “I don’t hear a thing.”

“He’s upset,” said Lucifer, not bothering to reply, listening closely. “He calls himself a freak. He says he didn’t mean to hurt Mason, but he got so angry and pushed him. He didn’t mean to.”

“That coincides what his brother told us,” said Aaron slowly. “Anything on Kelly?”

“She’s crying.”

“Let’s go in.”

Emily and Morgan quickly removed Kelly from Lucas’ reach. Lucas – as Reid predicted – was confused and reacted with aggression by charging at them. The squad that was with them for protection lifted their guns, but before anyone could pull a trigger or Aaron could shout an order, Lucifer stood between the guns and the charging giant.

Lucas went right for Lucifer, but the devil simply stepped aside, grabbed the man’s hand, twisted it and flung him to the ground. His expression was less Celestial Justice and more pitiful when he looked at the crying, large man in front of him.

“Tell me, Mr. Turner. Do you like cats?”

The question was not answered immediately, because Lucas was too distressed, but when Lucifer repeated it, the man looked up.

“Kitties?”

“Thought so,” said Lucifer stepped forward and tapped the man’s temple before walking away giving room to the police squad to lead Lucas away rather peacefully.

“Bastet?” asked Aaron quietly.

“Hell’s where he’s headed. He knew what he was doing. Enough at least to feel bad over it,” said Lucifer. “There’s no malice in him, though. Bastet’s kingdom it is. He seems to me like the type to cuddle a litter of kittens for all of eternity. After all, he’ll suffer enough for the remainder of his life.”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter what the courts decide,” said Lucifer quietly, “he’ll never return to the farm.” He sighed, “Even if you don’t like your home, it’s another story entirely to know you can never return to it.”

They were soon out of Lucas’ shelter and just when Aaron thought it was over, Ryan’s protective instincts flared.

“Have you lost your mind?” he shouted, brushing past Aaron walking right into Lucifer’s comfort zone. “You can’t walk into someone’s line of fire, you idiot!”

Aaron wanted to step in, but Lucifer shook his head before looking at Ryan calmly.

“You’re not bullet proof!” continued the captain. “Someone could have shot you, or Lucas could have surprised you. What the hell were you thinking? You could’ve died!”

Lucifer took Ryan’s hands – a physical gesture he was reluctant to show to anyone that was not a past or present lover – and smiled, “I am fine.”

“Out of sheer damned luck!” snapped Ryan, pushing the hand away, still panicked and furious.

“Not really, and you can’t damn luck,” countered Lucifer. “You can only damn what is or once was alive.”

“Don’t go scripture on me or I will make sure that you’ll see stars.”

That made Lucifer laugh, “Oh, I’d love to see you try.”

Ryan threw his hands up in frustration, “I’m not going to. I’d never hurt you.” The last bit was added softly.

Lucifer patiently looked at the man, “You couldn’t even if you tried.”

“Stop it,” hissed Ryan. “I’m serious. Why can’t you see-you don’t step into someone’s line of fire! It’s dangerous. You could’ve-“ He could not continue. “I don’t want to watch you die.”

All humor left Lucifer’s face, “Funny, neither do I, but that is not something that I can prevent, now, can I?” He sounded so bitter and Aaron reprimanded himself for never considering that – even if they lived to grow old – Lucifer would inevitably watch each and every single one of them die.

“I’m retired from active duty.”

“So am I, yet here we both are, doing what we do best, because it’s our duty,” countered Lucifer.

“What are you talking about?” Ryan stared at him. “What’s going on? When we arrived, you knew stuff, stuff you couldn’t possibly know. You knew where Kelly was when not even the dogs could catch a scent. Tell me.”

Lucifer pressed his lips together then looked up to the sky like he did whenever he thought of his father, exhaled shakily and said, “I don’t lie.”

“I know,” was the confused reply. “What’s this about?”

“And I’m not delusional or strange or traumatized or a method actor or what other weird explanation you humans have put together in your head to not see who I am.”

“What-“ but he stopped and stared at the tall man in front of him. “No.”

Lucifer hesitantly kneeled down and picked up a razorsharp rock.

“Here,” he offered it. “Hit me with it, cut me with it, whatever you need to do.”

“What? No!” refused Ryan, horrified.

“Fine,” said Lucifer and enclosed his finger around it; the rock crumbled where his fingers dug in. “I don’t lie.”

Ryan stared at the crumbling rock, “What kind of trick is this?”

“Ryan, please,” begged Lucifer, “please, just… I told you who I am. The night we met. What did I tell you?”

“ _’Hello, sexy soldier._ _I am Lucifer and the owner of this establishment. How may I serve you?’”_ repeated Ryan. “But… You’re not freaking out,” he addressed Aaron. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

Calmly Aaron told him how they found out about Lucifer’s true identity, that he understood that this was a lot to take in, but that Lucifer was still the same person he was half an hour ago.

Ryan was breathing heavily, looked from Aaron to Lucifer, then he turned around and walked away catching up with the police squad as they took away Lucas.

Lucifer’s expression was a heartbreaking mix of being devastated and resigned.

“Let’s go back,” said Aaron instead of trying to comfort him. He knew that nothing he said would make him feel better. “You did good.”

“Could’ve done better.” This was the last thing Lucifer said when they walked back to their cars. Ryan did not travel with a member of the team, but instead stayed with the squad and Hightower who had been forced to wait with a member of Bedwell’s team, because his condition had not allowed him to follow.

Lucifer remained silent on the car-ride back to the farm.

Only when they came to a stop, he said, “Please, let me burn it to bloody ground.”

“Not when you’re upset, no,” denied Aaron softly but sympathetically.

“I wonder if this is why Dad tells us not to tell you,” said Lucifer, “not because we’re breaking any rules… I’ve told so many humans by now, I’m sure he would’ve protested at some point if he disagreed, or sent Amenadiel to put an end to it. He wouldn’t have given you signs if he didn’t approve… What if he told us not to, so we wouldn’t feel like this?”

“How do you feel?” asked Aaron. He asked question deliberately and strategically the moment that Ryan was within earshot.

“Like a freak of nature, which is ironic, given that there would be no nature without me,” said Lucifer nodding at his favorite star.

Ryan swallowed visibly and remorsefully.

Good.

Nobody hurt a member of his team (even though he understood all to well what Ryan was going through).

“What are you doing?” They heard one of Bedwell’s men shout.

That was when they saw Hightower enter the building with a weapon he had obtained from a member of the police squad.

“Hightower!” shouted Ryan, but the unmistakable sound of a gun echoed in the air. “Oh, my God!”

They all ran to the open door. Hightower had already released his weapon and lifted his hands, ready to be arrested.

“What the hel-“ the word predictably got stuck in Ryan’s throat. It had taken Aaron weeks to say the name ‘Lucifer’ and the terms ‘Hell’ and ‘damned’ and ‘angel’ without stuttering, even longer to ban the word ‘god’ and ‘heaven’ from his vocabulary.

“He has to pay for what he did,” said Hightower.

“Excuse me?” asked Lucifer, all of his righteous fury burned in his voice like fire. “That wasn’t your call. What about the families and loved ones of the 88 other people? What about Lucas? You damn yourself just to get your revenge. You fool! You bloody, idiotic, human fool! You think your life is hard now, well, buckle up, because it’s going to get so much worse. How could you do this to your mother, you selfish prick? You denied Turner the agony of being bound to a bed until he withered and died. You denied him my punishment. I had plans for him. Humans!” With that, he grabbed Hightower by the collar and pulled him closer. The man startled, obviously surprised by the sheer strength in the devil’s hands. “Your sentence, my friend, won’t be pleasant.” Aaron could see his eyes flash red, and while Hightower let go a bloodcurdling scream, the team made sure that neither Bedwell’s men nor anyone else nearby noticed Lucifer’s eyes.

“William Hightower,” said Morgan as he handcuffed the trembling man, “You are under arrest.” While bringing him outside, they heard him recite the Miranda rights.

Staring at Mason Turner’s dead body, Lucifer’s body language was tense. To Aaron’s pleasant surprise, it was Ryan who put his hand on Lucifer’s arm.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?” scoffed Lucifer coldly. “For justifiably freaking out?”

“For that,” admitted Ryan calmly. “Can’t promise that I’ve stopped freaking out, I locked that part away for later examination, but mostly for letting it get to me so much that I lost track of Hightower thus forcing your hand. This wasn’t fair to you.”

Lucifer should not sound like he was one breath away from crying, “Nothing’s ever fair. Agent Hotchner, unless you want this place to go up in flames, we should leave now.”

They did just that. Everybody packed up quietly. They did not speak much, both reeling from Hightower’s desperate action, but also clearly affected by Lucifer’s solemn mood and Ryan’s inner struggles. By the time they stepped into the jet, Aaron was sure that every single member of the team had spoken to Ryan with the intention to both help him because they all knew what it was like and to make sure that their inadvertent meddling with Lucifer’s love life had not hurt their favorite angel.

Lucifer himself was quiet. He physically stayed away from the team, even though they all made an effort to include him.

“Are all of your cases like this?” asked Ryan into the painfully stretched silence.

“Like-“

“A whole lot of human evil and overcoming it with the Angel of Justice by your side?”

Lucifer scoffed, “Burned out Lightbringer turned devil to be more precise and they do fine on their own.”

“I don’t know,” retorted Ryan. “You brought a whole lot of light to that farm, though I’m sure you’re right about the latter.”

“You don’t have to-“ said Lucifer. “I don’t join all of their cases, so when they need a military consultant, I’ll make sure to make myself sparse.”

“What if I’m much more worried about losing one of my most precious friendships than not getting a job?” was the immediate reply.

“Really? Most precious friendships?” Again, Lucifer scoffed. “Two weeks ago, you wouldn’t admit that we knew each other, and now that’s all in the past?”

“Five years,” corrected Ryan.

Lucifer did not say anything.

“My nights with men weren’t always-“ Ryan began, stopped and began again. “They didn’t make me feel good. I’m not talkibg about the shame and post-coital down, though that certainly played a role, but some of them weren’t- I was trained and lethal and I held back, because I didn’t want to get into trouble and because I didn’t want to hurt them.”

Lucifer’s expression of surprise told Aaron that the devil had no idea about this, “Who-“

“They didn’t hurt me, but it wasn’t always pleasant. I rarely did anything while serving-but sometimes, I just, it was always rushed and I wondered why I wanted it, and I didn’t-risked my career everytime and beat myself up over it. I got so drunk the night the president announced the end of DADT that I could barely stand. I had just returned from a difficult mission and I wasn’t ready for that. I avoided any place where there was even a whisper of an LGBT community. Went home to be with my sisters and mom. But then, I couldn’t stand it anymore and I went to visit friends in LA. Not that kind of friends, just… People I met along the way. We went out the night before I met you, partying. The guys drifted away one by one, all with their companions – female, of course – and I was left alone in a club. Things were a bit wild and there was that guy… It’s not like one of these horror stories. He wasn’t unpleasant or hurt me physically or anything, but I felt like shit afterwards. I decided that this was it. The last time I tried that. I would just do like so many others and marry some nice girl pretending…”

“What made you change your mind?” asked Lucifer softly.

“One of the security guys noticed that something wasn’t as it should be and he came over, asked if I was okay. His girlfriend was with him. She was this dancer from another club. She brought me to the bar and bought us a non-alcoholic drink. She told me that she worked at a really great place that was open for everyone. Since I believed her to be transgender, I figured she did not exaggerate. DADT officially expired the next, so I thought why not? One last shot.”

“Larissa?” asked Lucier quietly. “Her boyfriend is the Head of Security over at _Redox_.”

“Precisely. And then I met you. Best night of my life.” Lucifer grinned widely. “I mean it. I didn’t know it could be like that. It wasn’t just the sex. Not sure if you remember-“

“I don’t forget, Ryan.”

“Remember then what I asked you? About places like Lux?”

“Of course,” said Lucifer. “I gave you names and places all across the world.”

“And gave me a five minute lecture about getting carried away without proper precautions…”

“You’d be paranoid, too, if you had lost multiple lovers due to the AIDS epidemic,” said Lucifer quietly. “I didn’t know about it until it was far too late. Raphael helped, but the last century was very busy; more people than ever and always some war, famine or misery to take care of.”

“The Angel of Healing, of course, why didn’t I think of th-wait! Muriel’s your sister,” he realized, his eyes wide. “I got chewed out by an angel?”

“Oh yes, you did,” grinned Lucifer. “She’s a baby and born after my Fall, but she was born before the neanderthals spread out in Europe and Asia, so technically, she’s older than you.”

“Technically…right. Remind me to apologize,” said the Army captain, obviously shaken. “Not the point, though. You showed me that night how it can be. Thanks to your help, I met all these amazing people, some became friends, with others I was intimate, but I haven’t had a single bad experience since, awkward ones, sure, but no bad ones. Not that anything comes close to you, but, yeah. Two nights, a couple of messages in between and now two weeks as your guest, but all of it means the world to me. And while I cannot promise not to freak out occasionally, your team obviously took it well enough, and I know you. You’re one of my favorite people in the world. I should know; I’ve travelled it more than once.

“Funny,” said Lucifer quietly, “you’re one of my favorites, too.” He then frowned. “I hope you’re fine with that group being a lot larger than yours.”

“Given you call Muriel a baby and taking her age into account, I’ll be delighted to make your Top 1000 list,” laughed Ryan.

“So humble,” purred Lucifer. “You’re in the human Top 100. Stick around and you’ll climb the ladder quickly.”

He sounded like he was joking, he probably was joking for the most part, but the plea for Ryan to stay was unmistakably genuine. To the captain’s utter credit, he sat down next to Lucifer leaning into him without hesitation. Lucifer mirrored the movement so he could kiss the top of his head. Before Aaron had to remind them that they were technically still on the case, Dave thankfully distracted him with paperwork.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when he could finally go home. All the others had long left, but Aaron had wanted to file the paperwork to make Ryan their official military consultant. He would not join them on a regular basis, Aaron knew this was neither necessary nor particularly good for current team dynamics – apart from the fact that he was really toeing Bureau rules with the whole ‘two consultants of the same team can be in a relationship as long it doesn’t threaten the outcome of the case’ argumentation, so he did not think it wise to employ him in any way, shape or form. Thankfully, the Army seemed eager to keep Ryan in whatever form they could and Ryan was more interested in getting all the necessary degrees to open that Youth Center, so this should all work out nicely. Strauss had to approve, but Aaron had found their Section Chief to be a lot more managable since both Dave and Lucifer were on the team.

Unfortunately, even though the case had ended relatively well given the circumstances of ninety lives lost and two more forever changed, that foreboding feeling he had in the beginning did not lessen. Tired, Aaron entered his empty apartment missing Jack so much it felt like a physical ache. He loosened his tie and took a deep breath to dispel the sense of dread.

That was when he felt the presence of someone else in the room.

He turned only to stare into the mask of the Boston Reaper. Facing certain death, he forced his mind to ignore Foyet and to focus on the only being that could help him.

“You should have taken the deal.”

_‘Lucifer, help me. Please, help me. I don’t want Jack to-’_

There was a shot and it all turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refs:  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Criminal_Investigation_Comman  
> \- http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Korean-Life/Religion  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Texas  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainline_Protestant  
> \- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Belt
> 
> Author's Note: Ha! You all forgot that long before he kills Haley, Foyet shoots Hotch…


	14. Nameless, Faceless (s05e01)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For all that George Foyet obsessed over Hotch, he failed to realize that he had friends in high and low places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You cannot tell me that I cliffhangered you for a long time :D
> 
> Thank you so much for the overwhelming response in the last chapter and apologies for the cliffie.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Rape mention (in the End Notes mostly)

Derek wanted to take his phone and throw the damn thing at a wall until it shattered. Blindly he reached over, grabbed it, and mumbled, “Th’s bettr’be g’d, H’tch.”

_“Agent Morgan?”_

His heart nearly came to a stop, and he opened his eyes, “Who’s this?” The male voice voice was familiar, but his tired mind could not place it.

_“This is Raphael.”_

“What happened? Where are you? Is everything okay? Where’s Lucifer?” The litany of questions fell from his lips, while he got up from his bed, nearly stumbled over Clooney and grabbed his jeans and shirt.

 _“Agent Hotchner was attacked by a man called George Foyet,”_ was the answer and the alarm bells sounded loudly in Derek’s head.

“Is he okay?”

 _“Getting better now,”_ he heard Hotch’s rough, hoarse voice. _“I’ll be fine. I-“_ he moaned a little indicating that he was still in pain, and Derek could hear Raphael’s soothing voice. Hotch continued, _“When I saw Foyet with the gun in his hand, I prayed to Lucifer. Foyet deliberately hit the wall, but the shot momentarily deafened and blinded me. We struggled and Foyet stabbed me. I think I was unconscious for a moment and the next thing I heard was a crash. Lucifer told Foyet to run, because it’s been too long since he’s had a good hunt, and-“_ Derek heard him cough.

“Easy, man,” soothed him the Chicago native, “I can guess what happened. Foyet is gone, Lucifer called in Raphael and now you’re calling me. I’ll call the team and we’re coming to your place.”

 _“No,”_ said Hotch. _“You need to-“_ his breath hitched again. _“You need to find Lucifer and Foyet.”_

“I’m pretty sure that Lucifer can handle Foyet. We can help Lucifer find-“

 _“No,”_ interrupted his team leader. _“You need to protect Foyet.”_

“Excuse me?”

_“You haven’t seen Lucifer.”_

_“_ All brimstone and Hellfire, I know,” said Derek having no illusions regarding how Lucifer would react to Foyet for hurting Hotch.

_“No, he’s not.”_

“Oh, so there’s a level beyond that?” frowned Derek.

 _“Hellfire burns low and slowly, Agent Morgan. It’s painful, but it doesn’t destroy. Lucifer is underestimating how much energy all of our prayers have given him,”_ said Raphael.

Realization hit like a ton of bricks, “Prayer feeds to power first.”

 _“Precisely. Lucifer was starving and now he’s slowly being fed back to health. I haven’t felt the Lightbringer’s fury in a long time,”_ said Raphael.

“Okay, okay, I got it. So, Hotch, you take care of yourself. Raphael, you take care of him, and I’ll call in the team one by one to slowly discuss on how to contact Lucifer-“

 _“Morgan, please, don’t make me beg,”_ said Hotch miserably. _“I called you because you work fast and out of everyone in the team, your relationship with Lucifer is best-suited to keep the Punisher within the bounds of FBI regulations.”_

“He attacked you, Hotch,” snapped Derek sharply. “He broke into your home and stabbed you, and the stars only know what he planned on doing next. Forgive me if I want the son of a bitch to burn.”

 _“Please,_ ” said Hotch, _“It’s not about Foyet. It’s about Lucifer. I don’t want him to accidentally kill Foyet just because of me. It would break him.”_

“Fine. One condition: call the rest of the team.” Once he had confirmation on that, he said softly, “Take care, Hotch. Thank you, Raphael.”

With that, he hung up the phone and dialed Lucifer’s number. It rang twice before someone picked up the phone.

_“Agent Morgan! As much as I love your deep, rumbling voice, I must admit to being very bus-“_

_“Agent Morgan, help me! Help me, please!”_ the unmistakable sound of Foyet’s utterly panicked voice sounded through the speaker.

 _“You be quiet!”_ commanded Lucifer sharply before his voice turned all soft and worried, “ _I’m guessing that Raphael called you. How is he?”_

“Pulling through, man. He asked me to remind you-“

 _“I’m not going to kill him,”_ said Lucifer dismissively, _“and I promised not to maim living humans, so there’s no reason for you to worry about that.”_

“Raphael thinks you’re underestimating your current level of power,” said Morgan.

 _“What, he thinks I haven’t noticed that my energy levels have tripled in the past weeks? I’m playing with the coin regularly for a reason, Agent Morgan. When I burned out, I lost power, and the coin is a way for me to practice and to measure the power I hold. Even burned out, I was too powerful to be ignorant of my own capabilities.”_ Lucifer’s voice was sharp, clear and direct. _“Anyway, it was nice talking to you, but I really have to go back to my punishment.”_

 _“Agent Morgan, please. I’m sorry, please!”_ screamed Foyet, terrified. _“I let you live, please, hel-“_

 _“Oh, don’t pretend as if letting him live was anything but a form of torture, you miserable excuse of a human soul,”_ hissed Lucifer and Foyet fell silent.

Derek took a deep breath and reminded himself that he swore an oath.

Even if helping Foyet was a very painful thing to do.

“Lucifer, where are you? You could get in trouble.”

 _“I’m in the basement of my tower, and I’m not touching him,”_ replied Lucifer.

“Okay, I’m on my way. Just, don’t do anything rash.”

 _“I can assure you that this is all very thoroughly thought out,”_ reassured him Lucifer. _“I’ve just been playing so far. I’m getting to the good parts now, though. I want to be finished by the time you arrive.”_

There was something chilling about the way he said it and Derek felt his skin prickle in horrified anticipation. He hung up the phone and called Rossi.

_“There you are. Where’s-?”_

“His tower, basement. Wait for me,” said Derek sharply and hung up the phone. He stumbled out of his apartment into his car, turned on the siren and rushed through traffic. On his way, he called Emily. She would be taking Hotch and Raphael to the nearest hospital. Reid, Garcia and JJ were on the way there as well.

Derek came to a sudden halt in front of Astra where Rossi had just arrived; security let them in and pointed them toward the elevator that led to the basement.

“Bomb shelter,” said Derek immediately and they approached the concrete door that Derek had previously seen at Lux.

There, it was Maze’ ‘playroom.’ Here, it was possibly the devil’s den.

“Why are you smiling?” asked Rossi suspiciously.

“Just a hunch,” said Derek and walked up to the door. “Lucifer, we’re here.”

The door opened and spine-chilling screams echoed through the dark room.

“Ah, you’re here!” exclaimed Lucifer, sounding terrifyingly happy in the presence of these screams. They heard a snap of fingers and fires flared lightning up the room in a gloomy, foreboding manner. “Quiet!”

Foyet bit on his tongue, but he could not suppress the painful moans. He was hanging upside down over a large pentagram that covered the entire floor.

The room did not contain any torture tools, there was no blood, and no smells that were out of the ordinary, not even sulfur. Foyet was shaking, though, his eyes pleading for their help.

“What did you do?” asked Rossi. “He’s- I mean there are a couple of bumps and bruises, but what-?”

“The soul is made of Light,” answered Lucifer calmly. “Even a black hole still responds to the Lightbringer.” He turned to Foyet who shook his head in utter fear. “Doesn’t it? Hush, don’t scream. It only gets worse when you do.”

Foyet writhed into his binds, in obvious pain, but in order to suppress his screams, he bit his lips so hard they started to bleed.

“I can ignite light in a black hole if I so choose… or I can make it sing. Well, vibrate, rather; it has nothing to do with music, and is very effective as you can see.” He happily presented the shaking serial killer and Derek was kind of speechless. “Now, Mr. Foyet, enough of that,” he casually snapped his fingers and the coin flung through the air like a missile cutting the rope in two; Foyet crumbled after falling to the ground. “There’s no need for me to make you confess. We have enough evidence, but here’s what you’re going to do. You won’t speak of this, you won’t be anything but the cruel, possessive, manipulative creature that you are, and you will live out your life in prison. If you don’t, I’ll find you, and I will make you sing in a way that will make you wish that I killed you today. Oh, and if you think of committing suicide, please, please do me the favor and go ahead.” His eyes flashed a cruel, merciless red. “We’re waiting for you.”

Foyet’s eyes were wide and he seemed too scared to scream. Witnessing that level of fear in the sadistic bastard was absolutely satisfying and Derek fought back a satisfied smirk.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Lucifer, danced over, and drew a sign Derek did not know on the Boston Reaper’s forehead. It glowed so white that Derek had to look away.

“Okay,” said Rossi calmly. His face betrayed nothing as he approached Foyet, turned him over and roughly cuffed him. “Here we go. I promise we’ll keep the big, bad devil away from you. As long as you behave, of course.”

He pulled him up and led him away.

Lucifer smiled, his eyes still burning with hellfire.

“What did you do?” asked Derek quietly.

“Tagged him for Heaven,” said Lucifer casually.

“Tagged him for-“ Then he remembered a conversation from what seemed like another lifetime. “You want Michael to destroy him.”

“Nobody hurts what’s mine, Agent Morgan,” said Lucifer quietly. “Ammit is too light of a sentence.”

“Shouldn’t you warn your sister?”

Lucifer laughed, “Foyet may be a big, scary human evildoer, but he’s no danger to her. Besides, I’ll know when he enters the Gates of Heaven. I’ll let Michael know. This is personal.”

Derek knew he should probably be horrified, but Foyet deserved every bit of punishment Lucifer bestowed on him. Instead, he said, “Come on, let’s go visit Hotch.”

He put a hand on the devil’s shoulder and guided him outside. Foyet flinched when Lucifer smiled at him, and Derek really tried to hide his own vicious satisfaction over his terror, but he knew he failed miserably at it.

“You know,” whispered Foyet, as if realizing it for the first time looking from Dave to Derek, “you know!”

“Yep,” said Dave calmly. “It must really suck to be you right now. Forgiveness isn’t the devil’s trade.”

With that, he put Foyet into his car and drove away.

Lucifer looked from the car to Derek, “Humans usually struggle to accept that about me.”

He looked remarkably lost, and it seemed wrong, especially after seeing him so sure and confident while punishing Foyet. “That I don’t forgive.”

“Well, they’re not looking hard enough then. Mercy may not be your domain, but compassion is, or Bastet’s kingdom wouldn’t exist,” he smiled at the devil. “You forgive the little things and you don’t give a damn about sins and vices that only hurt the person who indulge in them. It’s the big atrocities you care about and I think it’s perfectly okay not to forgive those.”

They arrived at the hospital and found every member of the team and Raphael smiling at Jack whose arms were wrapped around his father who was holding him with a smile that spoke of warmth and love.

“Thank you,” said Hotch addressing both Derek and Lucifer.

“Anytime,” said Derek.

“No need, Agent Hotchner. You call and I’ll be there. Always.”

Jack looked up, “Did you help Dad?”

“Yes, Jack,” said Hotch. “Raphael and Lucifer helped me.”

He avoided the word ‘save’ for good reasons.

Jack scrambled to his feet and approached Raphael hesitantly. Raphael, predictably used to dealing with children, kneeled down so that he was on eye-level with the boy.

“Thank you,” said the boy quietly.

“You’re welcome, Jack,” smiled Raphael.

Then the boy looked at Lucifer, and he took another step forward. Lucifer liked Jack, but he looked wary.

“Wanna hug Uncle Lucifer, Jack?” asked Derek and the boy nodded. “Come here.” He lifted the boy up and turned to Lucifer whose eyes went just a little wide.

“Did you know he has a lot of baby siblings? Raphael is one of them. They’re all grown now, but he knows how to hug them. All you have to do is make yourself small,” he crouched a little, “and do this.” Then he put his head on the center of Lucifer’s chest. Automatically, Lucifer’s right hand engulfed his neck and his left touched his back right below the shoulder blades. He let the feeling of safety engulf him, and held Jack close. “See? He’s good at this. Just out of practice.” Lucifer let go off him reluctantly and Derek gestured the fallen angel to crouch down as well, while he set Jack back on the floor. “Go ahead.”

Jack was a quiet yet brave boy and did as he was told, simply moved forward, turned his head to the side and let his cheek settle on Lucifer’s chest; the devil momentarily froze, but then held him close as he had Derek just seconds earlier.

Haley pressed her lips together, her eyes filled with tears, but so very happy and relieved. Once Lucifer let go and the boy went back to Haley, she thanked Lucifer before she coaxed her son away. They all waved their goodbyes.

Even after Jack was out of their sight, Hotch continued to smile softly.

“Come here, please,” said he.

Lucifer approached their team leader.

“I can never repay you for what you’ve done. Foyet, he would’ve-“

“He won’t. Ever again. Don’t let him get to you. He’s not worth your consideration or your thought. He’s a black hole; your Light must’ve irked him and made him want to destroy it. Darkness works like that. Light may be younger than Darkness and sometimes, it seems like all sparks of Light are just fireflies in the nightsky: small and not nearly numerous enough to light it up, but that’s the wrong way to look at it: Light may be infinitely smaller and more fragile than Darkness, but it’ll forever prevail because a life filled with Light is the only one worth living. I should know. I’ve been confined to dark places for longer than you can imagine, but I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.” He smiled. “Even on that farm, even here, where happiness and tragedy are just a breath apart, Light wins out in the end.”

Hotch nodded silently and his eyes glittered treacherously while tonight’s events started to catch up with him. Derek could not blame him. He was shaken and he had not been stabbed.

“Thank you all for coming,” said Hotch, a bit hoarsely, but calmly, “but now you should all go home and rest.”

“Actually,” said JJ, her expression full of regret. “We got a call.”

Derek groaned, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

* * *

She was not.

Somone had threatened Dr. Barton, a trauma surgeon, by promising to kill a person every day unless he willingly put his son Jeffrey in danger. It was a very personal attack and was aimed to exessively punish Barton.

Derek felt no small level of respect for both father and son. Even though it made their lives more difficult, he had to admit that the boy was pretty damn brave to leave the house and go to school in order to protect the people whom the UnSub had threatened to kill. He also enjoyed observing a healthy father-son relationship for once with Dr. Baron telling him to tell his son that he was “not mad at him. Tell him I love him. Tell him I’m proud of him.”

He left Lucifer with Dr. Barton, mostly because he wanted to spare the poor devil the shock of being exposed to an entire school of hormonal teenagers, but also because Lucifer obviously wanted to be near the man. If Derek and Reid had a big hole in their heart reserved for a father figure – though Derek was man enough to admit that Rossi and Hotch helped dealing with that gaping wound – he could only imagine how big that hole had to be for Lucifer.

It turned out to be the right decision to leave Reid and Lucifer with the doctor, because they found out that Jason Meyers, the UnSub, was intent on leaving a son without a father after he falsly believed that Barton’s choices had left a father without a son. Therefore, it became obvious that he targeted the surgeon all along. With Lucifer in vicinity and Reid’s amazing ability to talk down grieving UnSubs, the situation was under control quite quickly, although Meyers provoked Reid into shooting him in an attempt to commit suicide by cop.

However, the injury was not fatal and it led to the bizarre situation of the intended victim saving the UnSub’s life, but then Barton was a doctor in every sense of the word. This enormous sense of duty had to deeply impress and speak to Lucifer, because he insisted on talking to Dr. Barton after the case was closed.

“Nobody would have blamed you if you had refused to help him,” said he. “Why didn’t you?”

“There was a human being bleeding to death. It doesn’t matter who they are and what they’ve done. If I can make sure they’ll live and I decide not to do it, I might as well kill them and that goes against every oath I took,” was the calm reply, his arms around his son, careful not to touch the boy with his bloody hands.

“I see,” said Lucifer quietly. “You should meet my brother. He’ll love you.”

“I’m not gay,” was the baffled reply.

Had Lucifer flirted with him? But then, Lucifer’s pansexuality and refusal to adhere to gender stereotypes became more obvious whenever he felt comfortable. It was possible that Dr. Barton had picked up on the vibe and in turn misinterpreted the comment.

Lucifer laughed, “Not what I meant. Pity, but not what I meant. No, healers aren’t my domain and as much as I want to bind your Light to me, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to.”

Neither did the team, but later when they were back in Hotch’s room, Lucifer only said something along the lines of ‘blessing healers is Raphael’s privilege, not mine’ and then gave his brother a short summary of Dr. Barton’s sense of duty.

Raphael did not elaborate either, but nodded in agreement.

“Look,” said Derek, too tired to dwell on that on top of everything else. “Let me just… in the name of this team, thank you, Raphael.”

“Of course, Agent Morgan, thank you for checking in on my brother. I have to go.”

“See you around, baby brother.”

Morgan wanted to say something, but all that came out was a yawn.

“That’s it. Go home. That’s an order,” said Hotch who was looking much better. Well, unlike the rest of them, he had been able to sleep, his stab-wound was almost completely healed, and he could finally put the Foyet case behind him. It had to be a good day for Hotch.

“Yes, sir,” agreed Derek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewatching this episode was quite horrific. The conversation Foyet has with Hotch while he slowly drove that knife into him (talking about the knife as a substitute for sex), is one of the most disturbing scenes in the entire series and I didn't even realize it until I rewatched that episode... In way, we watch one of the lead characters of a TV show being raped...  
> Anyway, I spared Hotch this.
> 
> I hope the swift ending of the Foyet threat doesn't disappoint you. It just makes no sense for me to draw this out. The second a human hurts his people, Lucifer will be merciless.


	15. Haunted (5.2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope is worried about Aaron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are absolutely amazing!  
> Have I told you that lately?  
> Thank you for your fantastic response to the Foyet arc and its rather anticlimactic end...
> 
> Here's just a short episode tag, or rather a post-episode tag :)
> 
> Just so you know, writing Garcia's POV is about as difficult as Reid's!

Ten days were not enough, Penelope decided.

Even if he fully recovered, it was not good for Hotch to return after such a short period of time. She did not care what the rest of the team said or what Dr. Bill said. Hotch’s personal space had been violated and he had been hurt; if it had not been for Lucifer, he would have died.

Hotch had to stay home and rest, be with Jack. He should not have come here to deal with yet another case of some man who shot innocents in a pharmacy and later turned out to be just as innocent as the people he had inadvertantly killed. Even worse, the poor man was kind of messed up and the son of a serial killer; at the age of six, he had been forced to help his dad find the boys he wanted to abduct and kill before he himself fled his father’s custody and how was this their life? They should all just take a few weeks off and spend it somewhere on a beach, relaxing. The whole team. She really wanted to see her chocolate thunder out in the sun on a beach in these short skin-tight trunks that left nothing to her imagination. Daniel Craig had nothing on her Derek.

Oh, and what about Lucifer? He had to look _divine_ out of that suit. Then she thought of Kevin and that was when the fantasies really started, but then her memories reminded her of the last time two of her babies had decided to relax on a beach.

Back then, all Hell – ‘ _metaphorically speaking, sorry, Lucifer, if you’re hearing this, I am sure Hell’s lovely… or not? It probably shouldn’t be lovely but I cannot imagine it to be anything else since you’re running it. You’re the world’s bestest angel’ –_ had broken loose, but still, the team needed some time off.

Now that Darrin Call’s father was in custody to live out the rest of his miserable life in jail, and Darrin Call was being treated for his psychotic break after having the opportunity to reconnect with Tommy, the boy-now-adult he had helped escaping, everything was how it should be. Despite the case going remarkably smoothly, Penelope should have been faster at noticing that Call had been prescribed antipsychotic medication, and she hated disappointing Hotch-

“Garcia?”

“Yes, sir?” said she, twisting around to look at her boss.

He looked good; there was no hole in him. He moved as if nothing ever happened, but was not right; something really big happened.

“How are you?”

“How am I?” repeated Penelope, her breath hitching. “Oh, how am I? I don’t know. I can barely breathe. I’m scared. I’m relieved. I think we all need a vacation. How does that sound, sir? I am pretty sure that I can make us all go on vacation. That’s what I should do.” She looked at her computer and was already thinking of ways to change the FBI HR files to their favor, when…

“I am fine, Penelope.”

Penelope’s lips started to tremble and she felt tears fill her eyes, “You nearly died.”

“And worse,” confirmed Hotch quietly and unapologetically. “I know Foyet… better than anyone… short of Lucifer. What he planned on doing to me, it would have changed me. Thoroughly and completely. He would have unmade me. But he didn’t.”

“Thanks to Lucifer and Raphael,” said Penelope, feeling her head nod, while she took a shuddering breath.

“Thanks to them, yes, but also thanks to Morgan whose quiet presence hasn’t left me since Raphael called him that night, be that physically or with just a look while at work. Thanks to Dave who offers me an open ear whenever I need it. Thanks to JJ’s compassion, Reid’s support of logic and rationality, thanks to Emily’s unassuming but unmistakably protective streak, thanks to Jack who’s been staying with me since my return from the hospital. Thanks to Lucifer who calls me far too late in the evening to check in on me, while asking for my opinion on the most bizarre things before he proceeds to tell me all the funny things that happened at Astra. Thanks to Raphael who is taking turns with Dr. Bill to call me every morning to see how I am doing-”

“We’re your family, sir,” said Penelope, “we’re here for you.”

“And I greatly appreciate it,” said he softly. “I would like to thank you especially, Penelopy, for the cookies, the toys for Jack, the bills that you paid by somehow accessing my checking account to make sure I didn’t have to think about that, for the flowers and for somehow disabling every computer available to the inmates of the prison where Foyet was shipped to-“

“Is that a reprimand, sir?” said she meekly.

“No, it’s not,” smiled Hotch. Garcia loved his smile. It was small but genuine and soft and sweet and she loved the men in her life. She wanted to wrap them into heaps of blankets, so that no UnSub could ever touch them again. “Foyet may still be alive, but he has been utterly destroyed. He’ll never hurt anyone ever again.”

“I know. I know that Lucifer went all growly Lord-of-Hell on him,” said Penelope miserably, “but Foyet is still out there.”

“Garcia, I know you. You utterly oppose the death penalty. Lucifer’s solution should thrill you.”

“Foyet hurt you!” exclaimed Penelope. “I don’t want him dead, because that would be a horrible wish to have, but if I’m being very honest, I wouldn’t cry if he had died.”

“He’s gone. And I prefer it this way. That he’s out there, terrified for the rest of his life about what comes after. Just like he destroyed Detective Tom Shaunessy and like he undoubtedly planned to do with me,” he said it so calmly that Penelope noticed his expression: he was not putting on a brave face. He truly was fine with how everything turned out; he was healing – his heart and mind at least – but he was going to be okay.

“I’m sorry I disappointed you today,” she muttered. “I should’ve caught the antipsychotics.”

“Penelope,” said Hotch softly. “You could never disappoint me. You amaze me on every case and every day. You make sure we don’t get carried away in the stream of darkness we need to thread too many times. I’m sure the maker of stars would agree if I called you this team’s North Star. You guide us back home. Your voice is our hold onto the world we’re trying to protect. Thank you.”

_Screw protocol._

Her arms were around her boss.

“Are you okay?” he asked, but he briefly returned the gesture.

“Yes, sir,” said she biting on her lips as she let go off him.

“Good,” he smiled. “Before I forget: Roy Colson will be joining us soon.”

“Roy Colson?”

“The journalist from Boston,” specified Hotch. “He wrote a book on Foyet ten years ago. He held back on releasing a story, which helped us catch Foyet back in Boston. We then saved his life, but… anyway, I promised to give him access to the BAU if he held back on the story. He’s the good sort. He’ll be joining us on a couple of cases and he’ll either publish a series in his newspaper or write a book. We’ll see. Everything has yet to be approved, but the rest of the team agreed to it. I just wanted to inform you.”

“Okay, sir,” said Penelope. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir, bye!” agreed Penelope. She waited until he left the room and started up her computer.

_Roy Colson._

If he wanted to be within a ten-foot radius of her family, he better be a freaking saint.

She would find everything there was to know about this man. If he had as much as an unpaid parking ticket, she would find it and confront him about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This short post-episode tag is for the one and only Penelope Garcia. In the show, after Foyet raped Hotch and threatened his family, forced him to put his family into protective custody, thus not seeing them until they had Foyet, Hotch was extremely agitated, upset and obsessive in this episode. Garcia received the brunt of it; she also never got an apology. While I understand why he was occupied, I thought that this AU’s Hotch reactions are kind of an apology for canon!Hotch’s trauma and subsequent strain he put on the team :)


	16. Reckoner (5.3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy Colson, journalist, writes to his editor about the case he had with the BAU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who forgot about Roy Colson: He is a character in the Omnivore episode (canon) and Hotch promises to let him have access to the team if he holds back on a story on the Reaper. He does, but Hotch never follows through (understandable given all that happened to him during the Foyet arc). Anyway, in this series, he invites Colson. 
> 
> No worries, this is not a permanent character. He will not show up in the independent storylines (except, when I wrap up the series for one more chapter), but each Box series will have one story from Colson's point of view (either this highly experimental approach with journal entries/report style or regular outsider's POV).
> 
> Thank you so much for your support!

_Report To The Editor, Bob Sullivan_

_Hi Bob,_

_My first case with the BAU has just finished and below you will find my impressions and official report of this case. Please note that I have not anonymized the names, so keep all of this confidential. This report was cleared to leave the Bureau at Quantico, but has not been cleared for publication. My personal notes are in lockdown at Quantico; I am not allowed to bring them home or work on them anywhere but at the Bureau or when I am with the team, which I understand completely. They are protecting victims and their families as well as themselves; the Boston Reaper directly targeted them, and given the people they are trying to stop, this probably was not an isolated case. The notes themselves will be destroyed once my book and/or articles are written and published. The system allows me to keep my private thoughts sorted without endangering everyone involved._

_At first, I received a laptop for these purposes, but after three strange security breaches and two suspected attempts for remote access, Agent Hotchner gave me a bunch of notebooks with an apology. I am not entirely sure why he apologized, but I am happier with a notebook anyway._

_Before I get to the case, let me introduce you to the team._

**Concerning ~~Hobbits~~ the BAU **(I know, I know; I will refrain from future references)

_The Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI_

_Contrary to what I initially thought, the BAU is not a one-team unit, but actually an entire department of the FBI, led by Section Chief Erin Strauss. I have only met her briefly when she greeted me, but she is a formidable personality whom I would never dare to cross._

_The Team_

_Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief_

_You have met him. Seeing him out in the field and at the office only verified my impression of him as an unshakable, strong leader. I underestimated the sheer level of kindness he is capable of, however._

_His instincts and knowledge of human behavior makes it almost impossible to deceive him, and for a team of profilers, it only makes sense for its leader to be unparalleled at it. His experience as a former prosecutor and thus understanding of the justice system is crucial for legal arrest and successful prosecution. His team trusts him completely and they follow his lead._

_SSA Derek Morgan_

_Should Agent Hotchner be absent for whatever reason, Agent Morgan becomes acting Unit Chief. Like Agent Hotchner, his career has not started with the FBI; instead, like his father, he was a cop and slowly worked his way up to become one of the most prestigious teams in the FBI. As Second in Command, he has more leeway regarding interaction with the team and out in the field and he is using that to his and the team’s advantage. Like Agent Hotchner, he is an outstanding profiler and his expertise in hand-to-hand combat is so high, he is one of Quantico’s most sought after instructors. His specialties are crimes of obsession._

_SSA Emily Prentiss_

_Not only was she the best in her class, her previous work with Interpol and her ability to speak several languages fluently make her an amazing asset to the team and the FBI. Her skillset makes me think that she will lead her own team one day, not unlike Agent Morgan. Despite being connected in DC through her mother, Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, she has worked her way up as diligently and slowly as Agent Morgan. Her specialty is in terrorism, both domestic and international, which is a bit uncommon for the BAU and may lead her away from the team some time in the future. That is just my impression. Agent Hotchner neither confirmed nor denied that hunch._

_SSA David Rossi_

_He is the most famous member of the team for sure: Agent Rossi, basically one of the founding fathers of the BAU. I list him last in the list of profilers because he does not really fit into the normal hierarchical structure of an FBI department. There are very few fields of profiling he has not at least dabbled in, but the one specialty he wrote the literal book on, is hostage negotiation. Contrary to what I expected, Agent Rossi is humble. I knew him to be smart as a whip, temperamental and outstanding at his job, but I expected him to dominate team meetings and to make himself heard. Instead, he seems to enjoy his position as a quasi-retired profiler and uses his considerable experience to support the team._

_Special Agent Jennifer Jareau_

_Despite being just as capable to investigate a case and to understand human behavior, Agent Jareau is not a profiler. She is thinking about completing the extra training to do so, but she enjoys her position as press liaison. Moreover, more than any profiler on the team, she is the person that the families of victims can contact for support. She is the one who decides where to go next. Agent Jareau is fully aware of the enormous responsibility this entails. Her calm and approachable demeanor serves as a buffer between the team and the rest of the world. Again, like Agents Morgan and Prentiss, there is a natural air of leadership surrounding her that would make her suited for a leadership position in a team._

_I know what you think: so many alpha type personalities. How does that even work? One word: respect. What struck me the most about this team was the respect each member had for each other’s abilities and specialities. The permission to speak is not based on who speaks the loudest, but on who knows the most about a certain topic. They bounce ideas off of each other more quickly than I can follow. They lean on each other and support each other._

_If you doubt that, then let me introduce you to the next member of the team._

_Dr. Spencer Reid_

_He is also a special agent and a profiler, but I did not list him among the others because he is in a league all of its own. If the name ‘genius’ could have ever been attributed to anyone, it is him. At the age of 28, he has PhDs in mathematics, engineering and chemistry as well as BAs in psychology and sociology and is currently working on getting a degree in philosophy. His IQ is 187; he has an eidetic memory and can read up to 20,000 words per minute. Impressed yet? He can solve the Satuday crossword puzzle of New York Times in under ten minutes. He looks so young! Compared to the rest, he seems impossibly young, but he is as mature as the rest of them. The rest of the team is highly protective of him and deeply respects him. His personality type is definitely the opposite of dominant, but he gets every bit as much attention as the rest of them._

_Penelope Garcia_

_She is the technical analyst of the team. Where Dr. Reid is a genius in the analog world, she is the master of cyber space. Remember that one piece Laura wrote about hackers? Well, I think I just met someone who is better than all the people Laura interviewed combined. The team’s trust in her is absolute and she is a full member of the team despite spending most of her time confined to a small room full of servers and computers. She is a true ray of sunshine and some team members share a peculiarly close bond._

* * *

**Notebook 1, Personal Note 6, September 13, 2016**

Overheard the following conversation between Agent Morgan and Penelope Garcia.

“Baby girl, give it to me.”

“Oh, sugar, I don’t think you would survive that.”

“On speaker, Garcia, behave.”

“All work and no play makes Penelope a bored girl.”

Not going to comment further at this point. More information required.

* * *

_Lucifer Morningstar (no, I am not kidding; that_ is _his name)_

_Where to begin? Mr. Morningstar is the only civilian on the team, working as a consultant, particularly regarding anything that is religion or language-related. The man speaks everything. So far, I have not heard a language from his lips that did not sound like his native tongue. As far as religion is concerned, he grew up in an extreme Abrahamic sect – though I cannot tell whether its roots are Christian, Jewish or Islamic; Judeo- Christian seems the most likely – and knows scripture inside and out regardless of its origins. I mean it. To test the man’s expertise, I read an article about obscure shamanistic groups all over the world, and not only did he know every single one of them, he also corrected things from the article. _

_Therefore, like the others, he is an expert, but this is where the similarities end. He is most certainly a civilian; though he familiarized himself with police procedure to the point he can recite regulations, he does not always adhere to them. The same can be said about his compliance with the law. Some laws, he follows absolutely and without question. Others, he he calls quaint._

* * *

**Notebook 1, Personal Note 12, September 13, 2016**

Conversation with Lucifer Morningstar.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Morningstar, is this cocaine?”

“Oh, yes, the good stuff, too. A pity I promised Agent Hotchner not to use them here.”

“So, you have a history of drug abuse?”

“Comparatively, no, I don’t. It’s rather the opposite.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Mr. Morningstar, Mr. Colson! Lucifer…”

“Not this look, Agent Hotchner. You know I don’t use them on the job or near the Bureau, which has somehow infiltrated every aspect of my life. There you go, Agent Foster. You look lovely today.”

* * *

_He is strange, but the team has a lot of respect for his opinion and he in turn listens to them when they explain their point of view._

_I hope you meet him one day: he is tall and extroverted and around these serious FBI agents, he seems utterly harmless and even naïve, but that is not the case._

* * *

**Notebook 1, Personal Note 13, September 13, 2016**

Invited to mandatory hand-to-hand combat lesson for the entire BAU, instructor: SSA Agent Simon Miller (Joint Terrorism Task Force)

Present but excused from the physical training: Penelope Garcia*

Not particating during the mandatory lesson: Lucifer Morningstar**

*NOTE: Carrying popcorn.

**NOTE 2: Wears a suit.

The lesson has ended. Agent Morgan is by far the best hand-to-hand fighter on the team, though Agent Hotchner is excellent as well. Agents Prentiss and Jareau are considered two of the best female agents in terms of their fitness test scores (according to Agent Morgan). Agent Rossi participated but not without pointing out that, technically, he is retired. A protest that both SSA Miller and SSA Hotchner noted, but did not comment on further except for a brief, ‘If you don’t want to participate, all you need to do is tell Strauss’ from Agent Hotchner, which ended that conversation. According to the rest, he makes up for his age by fighting smart and dirty, which I can confirm. He even managed to get Agent Morgan in trouble briefly. How Dr. Reid passed his physical is frankly puzzling to me; while he is by no means unfit, he avoids physical conflict at all costs and apparently prefers to use his mental capabilities to make up for his physical limitations. That is not very helpful in a lesson with his teammates who have intimate knowledge of how he approaches a conflict. Compared to how they went at each other, the team was being very kind to him.

End of training. Agent Miller asks Mr. Morningstar whether he could join for a quick demonstration. I am intrigued.

Mr. Morningstar gets up and the rest of the team, with the exception of SSA Morgan, sits down (Ms. Garcia brought extra popcorn and hands it over to Agents Prentiss and Jareau).

Agent Morgan: “Please, be gentle.”

Morningstar: “Always.”*

*Note added later: It is difficult to describe what happened after that. Both Agents Miller and Morgan took on Mr. Morningstar who effortlessly flattened them again and again. It looked like he was not even trying. Agent Miller asked for pointers in terms of Mr. Morningstar’s unique style. Agent Morgan mentioned that he could not wait for “Mazeken” (Mazikean? Masken? Too fast, did not ask) to come for a demonstration with Mr. Morningstar.

Conversation between Agent Miller and Mr. Morningstar:

\- How do you anticipate the next move?

\- It’s all in the pattern. Hand-to-hand combat is nothing but a sequence of moves that might as well be a dance. Every dance is a part of music and I know music. People are easy to predict. Now my little brother, he sees every pattern. Every move kickstarts a cascade of events. It makes him one of the best predictive fighters.

\- So he knows how you will attack next.

\- No, he knows I would never hurt him and that’s how he always wins. To do the unexpected and break the pattern, I would have to want to hurt him, and I really don’t. To defeat him, you need to take him down quickly and ‘taking down’ my baby siblings is not an enjoyable thing to do. My two older brothers, they don’t hesitate and he fears them for it.

\- I see, but how do you recognize these patterns?

\- What do you mean?

\- The patterns. How do you see them?

\- You telegraph your intent, Agent Miller.

\- How?

\- When an attack is imminent, your inner Light either dims or flares, depending on the person. Either way, I recognize that.

Agent Miller was called off shortly after. He looked as confused as I felt.

* * *

_And to show you what I mean, I think I should tell you about the case._

_Long story short: The case takes place in Commack, Long Island._

_The victim (again, no name changes) is Ben Vanderwaal, shot at close range with a small caliber shell (.22). His gentials were mutliated post mortem. His wife Heather is missing._

_The case is connected to that of a woman who was found emaciated in a dumpster._

_The team gathers and tosses around facts, statistics and ideas more quickly than I can follow. They agree that the signature is hard to see and that the crimes appeared to be highly organized. Mr. Morningstar does not joint the meeting at Quantico and instead meets us in the plane (they have a jet!). After browsing through the files in record speed, he says._

_“Excellent work; very dispassionate. The culprit would make an excellent punisher. That is if he hadn’t become a problem himself.”_

_“Punishment?” says Agent Hotch in return._

_“Well, of course. Well, Vanderwaal’s corpse appears to be more of a deterrent, but there are very few reasons for cutting off someone’s reproductive organs. Now, starvation together with the ‘mutilation’… that clearly makes it an act of punishment performed by a very skillful torturer.”_

* * *

**Notebook 1, Personal Note 17, September 14, 2016**

_Note to self:_

Mr. Morningstar is terrifyingly casual when it comes to torture. He knows a lot about the topic. Contact R.T at G.Bay to hear if Morningstar is a familiar name.

* * *

_With this rather bizarre comment, the team starts their investigation and finds out that Morningstar’s intuition was correct. Heather Vanderwaal surfaced again, wandering around aimlessly (indicating that the UnSub [= “Unknown Suspect”] only kills specific people). An interview with Heather showed that Vanderwaal sexually harassed Heather’s daughter Alison, his stepdaughter. Cutting off the genitals of a sexual predator of minors seems less evil, at least in my book._

_Anyway, we find out that both victims, Rita Haslat (emaciated woman) and Ben Vanderwaal were killed by a small calibre through the heart, using a zip gun (please find attached some notes I made on the principles of a zip gun). Given the level of sophistication of both kills leads the team to believe that they’re looking for a professional hit man contracted by a vigilante. Thanks to Ms. Garcia (We need one likeher with us; she is amazing for doing online research), we find out that Rita Haslat used to be a social worker, but was fired for gross negligence after one of her foster children starved to death._

_There is a high chance that the vigilante is from the justice department and that crimes against children are his trigger. Considering the number of crimes against children that never lead to conviction, the team is facing a big challenge, so they focus on the hit man first, because the list may be more clandistine, but smaller comparatively._

_Here is where it gets a bit strange: Agent Rossi has a contact in the city, his hometown, who appears to be involved in organized crimes; he can give him the name of the killer: Bosola. I was not invited to their arrest, because I have not been cleared yet, but no lives were lost and the team managed to arrest Bosola. They give little details, but the precinct grapevine says that Morningstar had something to do with that. I have no evidence to back it up, though._

* * *

**Notebook 1, Personal Note 25, September 14, 2016**

Overheard conversation between Detective Hardesty and an officer:

\- Hardesty, is it true what they said? Did Morningstar really go into that mob bar and dragged Bosola out by the hair?

\- I wouldn’t say by the hair, more dragged his unconscious ass out by the collar.

\- How?

\- Don’t know. Going to be one hell of a report, though.

Further investigation needed.

* * *

_I was allowed to overhear the interrogation between Agents Hotchner and Prentiss and Bosola. He remains silent at first, but then Agent Hotchner asks for Mr. Morningstar’s presence and that is when Bosola starts to sing giving them the name of the vigilante: Judge Schuller (I know you read about that; it was all over the news). They arrest him in his home and bring him to the station._

_Agent Rossi is interrogating Judge Schuller; he very quickly gets under his skin, because apparently Agent Rossi personally knew the judge’s wife who died in a car accident and whose death triggered it all. In the beginning, I am sympathetic, but the team makes me realize that taking justice into your own hands is tricky._

_Let me share with you the following conversation:_

_Judge Schuller says to Agent Morgan, “I’ve had enough of seeing the guilty walk free of their sins.”_

_Agent Morgan replies coldly, “What about your sins?”_

_Judge Schuller: “I got cancer for mine.”_

_That is the moment when Mr. Morningstar scoffs, “Cancer has nothing to do with your sins. Cancer is simply one of the many ways that a human body breaks down. You haven’t even begun to pay for your sins, Mr. Schuller.”_

_“It’s ‘Judge’ Schuller,” replies the other man sharply and I am surprised by the sheer narcisisstic arrogance in his voice._

_“You’ve entirely forfeited the right to be called by a formal title that speaks for your involvment in the justice system, Mr. Schuller. Besides, there is only one judge that matters.”_

_“I wouldn’t have depicted you as a man of God,” frowns Judge Schuller._

_“God has nothing to do with this. No, God put an archangel in charge of justice,” says Mr. Morningstar. [I wish you were there, Bob, to see this with your own eyes. The room crackled with tension and Morningstar’s expression was very dark. It seemed like all the Light was sucked from the room. Pretty cool, but also scary.]_

_“Raguel,” nods Judge Schuller._

_“Leave her out of this,” says Morningstar sharply. “No, judgment beFell to one angel, and one angel only. And that one isn’t very happy with your decision to take the Law into your own hands.”_

_“The devil is a Christian myth,” replies Schuller resolutely. “He isn’t real.”_

_“Well, not to say that Christians had it right. They’re wrong, for the most part, about Satan, but that doesn’t mean they’re entirely wrong about believing he exists. Hell is very real and your suffering has only just begun.”_

_I don’t know what happened next. Whatever Judge Schuller saw, it made him scream. The entire conversation was bizarre, but Agent Hotchner – for once – did not give me a straight answer._

* * *

**Notebook 1, Personal Note 32, September 14, 2016**

Conversation with Agent Hotchner.

\- What happened to Judge Schuller? Morningstar hasn’t touched him.

\- “There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” 

\- Did you just quote Laurell K. Hamilton?

\- Morningstar is very good at getting under the skin of those who would normally only scoff. He doesn’t lay a hand on them.

\- Schuller nearly had a heart attack.

\- But he didn’t. I trust Lucifer never to take it too far.

* * *

_Well, that is it. My first case with the BAU. Given that this was all over the news, I am not going to write an article about it. I’ve only just met them, and I would like to join a few more cases in the future to get a better feel for them. Agent Hotchner will contact me again for another case in a few weeks weeks or months, depending on their workload. I am looking forward to it._

_Yours,_

_Roy_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. Box 2 is over. I will now focus on the next story: The True Believer. I have a mess of notes that I need to take care of now, so I hope you will understand that this will take more than one week before I can give you a new chapter. I hope to update by the start of April, but no guarantees.
> 
> Now, some of you might wonder about SilverWolf7's contributions to the series. Well, she is a follower of the God of Chaos Loki, who - I am sure you realized by now given the number of mentions in my stories - will make it into the series one day (if you look at the titles of my independent stories, you know when).  
> Therefore, these stories by SilverWolf7 shouldn't be up yet, theoretically, but because Loki is the God of Chaos, we thought that - from an artistic point of view - it makes beautiful sense to publish these stories now and explain them far down the line :) this is our way to have fun. 
> 
> Just like this chapter was my way to test a new writing style. I am using the Devil Files as a means to test different writing styles. I hope you had fun.

**Author's Note:**

> Reverence For Life Series - Outline [chronologic order]:
> 
> STORY 1: Return From Tartarus (posted)  
> STORY 2: The Devil Comes Down to Quantico (posted)  
> CM Interlude 1: The Devil Files - Box 1 (CM episode recaps and snippets with Lucifer, not necessary for main stories) (posted)  
> STORY 3: Like Ashes in the Wind (original case fic + original plot) (posted)  
> CM Interlude 2: The Devil Files - Box 2 (more CM episodes, same as Box 1) (this story)  
> STORY 4: The True Believer (original case fic + original plot)  
> CM Interlude 3: The Devil Files - Box 3 (same as Box 1 & 2)  
> STORY 5: When the Fallen Angel Weeps (original case fix + original plot)  
> CM Interlude 4: The Devil Files - Box 4 (same as Box 1-3)  
> STORY 6: Climbing Yggdrasil (original case fic + original plot)  
> CM Interlude 5: The Devil Files - Box 5 (recommended to read for end)  
> STORY 7: All Stories Come to an End


End file.
